FinTech News
“Copy-Trading” Platform Dub Raises $17 Million
A FinTech brokerage platform that makes it easy to share and follow portfolio strategies has closed a new round of funding.
About the round:
Dub has announced that it’s raised $17 million — including $15 in equity deals and a $2 million debt facility. The seed round was led by Tusk Ventures with several other venture firms as well as individuals participating. This list includes Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, Apex Fintech Solutions CEO Bill Capuzzi, pop songwriter Ryan Tedder, Robinhood co-founder Nathan Rodland, and more. Meanwhile, the $2 million venture debt facility was provided by Silicon Valley Bank (which is now a division of First Citizens Bank).
About Dub:
The core idea of Dub is that it allows investors to not only view portfolios for individuals, funds, and others but also copy those portfolios easily. As the company explains, its platform allows users to “copy portfolios with the same ease of buying a single stock,” using just a single tap. In turn, users can also choose to make their own portfolios viewable and copyable.
What they’re saying:
Commenting on the idea for the platform, Dub’s 22-year-old founder and CEO Steven Wang said, “A decade from now, instead of picking stocks, we’ll be picking people to invest in. It’s already how my generation is investing, with the rise of social media and commission-free investing. Humans are narrative- and fear-driven creatures.”
Wang continued “Digitally-native creators have mastered the art of storytelling and are building fervent communities that leverage social accreditation to guide their investment decisions. With Dub, we’re building the creator economy for finance.”
Elsewhere, investor Nathan Rodland (co-founder of Robinhood) said of the app, “Dub’s copy-trading platform opens a new frontier in retail investing. As the first broker dealer to offer copy-trading, they are in a position to offer a truly unique product to investors,”
Additionally, Tusk Venture Partners co-founder and managing partner Jordan Nof stated, “Steven and the Dub team have created a platform where financial creators can share their ideas, demonstrate their investment strategies, and provide retail investors with the information they need to take more agency over their investment decisions.
My thoughts:
Although Dub is indeed an interesting concept, it’s not completely original. For example, Public has previously emphasized the social side of its trading platform, which allows customers to see what other users are invested in. Incidentally, speaking of copying, SoFi Invest later introduced a similar feature called Social Sharing.
In any case, considering this impressive seed round, it seems that investors see something in Dub. As for me, I do have questions about the platform and will need to take a hands-on look at it before rendering a judgment.