There has been a well-documented boom in retail investing during the pandemic, which has notably included a rise in Millennial and Gen Z investors. We believe that trend, along with an increase in crypto investors and NFT trades, presents an opportunity to build a new streamlined experience for the modern retail trader.

The Nuts & Bolts

Problem: The number of retail investors using trading apps, such as Charles Schwab and Robinhood, has quintupled over the past five years to an estimated 150 million in 2021. Added to that mix are DeFi apps, including Coinbase, Metamask, OpenSea, and FTX that have amassed millions of users and billions in trading volume. The result is a highly fragmented brokerage landscape, with traders toggling between multiple apps.      

Solution: Roi is on a mission to provide retail investors with a mobile-first platform that aggregates DeFi and stock trading apps, allowing them to track and manage their portfolio in one place–including buying and selling. Think of it as a Web3 version of Wealthfront, but with the added benefit of trading. 

Getting to know Roi

Roi is the creation of Sujith Vishwajith, an ex-Airbnb software engineer and retail investing enthusiast. ​​Sujith’s strong technical background from Airbnb, Google, and Microsoft allowed him to build Roi’s minimum viable product by himself. At Airbnb, he got to know Chip Davis, who is now the Chief Product Officer for Roi. Chip was head of design for Airbnb’s professional Hosting products, reimagined the retail experience for Nike’s House of Innovation, and led the HMI design team at Faraday Future. Both of them have experience building delightful customer experiences for millions of users. 

Chief Product Officer Chip Davis

Why now?

We believe that Roi’s platform is positioned to capitalize on both the crypto investing boom and the emerging but fragmented Web3 space. Despite current stock market volatility, the growth of retail trading during the pandemic appears to have permanently changed the investment landscape. Credit Suisse estimates that trading activity of independent investors has doubled since the start of 2020, from 15%-18% to over 30% by early 2021. There are now over 100 million users at the top six most popular brokerages. However, retail investors today still don’t have an easy way to see all the wallets, NFTs, and assets they have in one place. 

The future of Roi

In less than two months, Roi has launched a closed beta with early users and built up a robust TikTok and Instagram following. Users have come through Roi organically, eager to use the product and effectively manage their full portfolio of cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and other assets. Platform-wise, Roi currently supports over 12 chains and 1,000+ brokerages with plans to support even more in the coming months. We look forward to supporting Roi as it creates the ultimate platform for the modern retail trader. 

You can learn more about Roi at: https://www.getroi.app/

Legal Disclaimers: 500 Startups programs (including accelerator programs), investor education services, strategic partnership consulting services and events are operated by 500 Startups Incubator, L.L.C. (together with its affiliates, “500 Startups”) and the funds advised by 500 Startups Management Company, L.L.C. do not participate in any revenue generated by these activities. Such programs and services are provided for educational and informational purposes only and under no circumstances should any content provided as part of any such programs, services or events be construed as investment, legal, tax or accounting advice by 500 startups or any of its affiliates.

The views expressed here are those of the individual 500 Startups personnel, or other individuals quoted and are not the views of 500 Startups or its affiliates. Certain information contained herein may have been obtained from third-party sources, including from portfolio companies of funds managed by 500 Startups. While taken from sources believed to be reliable, 500 Startups has not independently verified such information and makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy of the information in this post or its appropriateness for a given situation. In addition, this content may include third-party advertisements or links; 500 Startups has not reviewed such advertisements and does not endorse any advertising content contained therein.

This content is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, tax or accounting advice. You should consult your own advisers as to those matters. References to any securities or digital assets are for illustrative purposes only, and do not constitute an investment recommendation, offer to sell or solicitation to purchase any investment securities, or offer to provide investment advisory services. Furthermore, this content is not directed at nor intended for use by any investors or prospective investors, and may not under any circumstances be relied upon when making a decision to invest in any fund managed by 500 Startups. (An offering to invest in an 500 Startups fund will be made only by the private placement memorandum, subscription agreement, and other relevant documentation of any such fund and should be read in their entirety.) Any investments or portfolio companies mentioned, referred to, or described are not representative of all investments in vehicles managed by 500 Startups, and there can be no assurance that the investments will be profitable or that other investments made in the future will have similar characteristics or results.

Charts and graphs provided herein are for informational purposes solely and should not be relied upon when making any investment decision. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The content speaks only as of the date indicated. Unless otherwise expressly stated, figures are based on internal estimates and have not been independently verified. Any projections, estimates, forecasts, targets, prospects, and/or opinions expressed in these materials are subject to change without notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by others. All logos and trademarks of third parties referenced herein are the logos and trademarks of their respective owners and any inclusion of such trademarks or logos does not imply or constitute any approval, endorsement or sponsorship of 500 Startups by such owners.

Please see Section 2 of our Terms of Use for additional important information.