Our investment in Gotrade
There is a hidden superpower behind many of the most successful global fintechs. Yes you’ll find product brilliance, yes you’ll find exceptional engineers but, perhaps the unsung heroes, are the regulatory masterminds.
By definition, the most disruptive fintechs often have no regulatory precedent or framework in which to operate. The way founders choose to navigate these unchartered waters is a unique challenge. Some aim for rapid scale with the hope this scale gives them a stronger hand to negotiate with regulators. Some stay on the fence too long and get overtaken by more aggressive competitors.
Some seem to get it just right.
This we feel, is the path travelled by Gotrade. As of today, Gotrade became the first locally regulated platform to enable fractional US share trading in Indonesian history. Whilst this may be a sidebar in today’s funding announcement, we have had a front-row seat over the past three years and have seen just how much time, effort and creative thought has gone into this landmark moment.
From left to right: Fajar Wibhiyadi (CEO of the Indonesian Futures Clearing House), Stefanus Paulus Lumintang (CEO of the Jakarta Futures Exchange) and Rohit Mulani (CEO of Gotrade).
During our first conversations with co-founder and CEO Rohit Mulani in 2019, we were blown away by his encyclopedic understanding of the finer details of the Indonesian regulatory environment, from Bappebti and the Jakarta Futures Exchange to the Futures Clearing House of Indonesia.
On top of these, Rohit developed two critical relationships and in so doing, ended up with two more amazing co-founders on the way: David Grant, former CEO of Charles Schwab Singapore and hugely experienced regional operator and Andrew Haryono, owner of Indonesian securities broker Valbury, initially an advisor with deep and trusted local regulator relationships and now a core member of the leadership team.
We talk a lot about defensive moats in venture. Most often this applies to tech and yes, Gotrade has amazing technical talent, led by Norman Wanto and a truly beautiful product but this regulatory moat (and the muscle the team have developed) may end up being the most important in the company’s mission to build the leading investment platform in South East Asia.
For the first time in history, 260 million Indonesians now have access to fractional US stocks, commission-free. Another 360m South-East Asians are next.
Huge congratulations to Rohit and the full Gotrade team. And we’re delighted to be joined by Don Montanaro whose Velocity Capital led Gotrade’s $15.5m A round.