NexChange Hopes to Unite Financial Services in One Social Media Network
NexChange is a new social network designed exclusively for financial industry professionals. While there are other such networks in existence that are more niche, NexChange is unique in that it does not focus on the hustling and huckstering of investment securities. Instead, this is a network designed to help you maximize your career in financial services.
Here is a recent interview conducted with the NexChange CEO Juwan Lee, an investment pro with decades of experience.
Jason Voss, CFA: What inspired you to create NexChange?
Juwan Lee: The inspiration comes from the fact that I was in financial services for nearly 30 years. When I was a money manager, it was very easy to get content, and it was very easy to chat with my peers. But what I took for granted — content and communications with peers — is not available to the majority of financial services professionals. I realized this when I exited the profession.
Instead, I discovered I had to use multiple services to replicate what I could do as a money manager. So the inspiration was to make this technology available to others. In no way am I trying to replicate Bloomberg. Because NexChange’s platform is “mobile first,” we can never compete with the large-scale data providers. Instead, my goal is to build a network globally of financial services professionals.
Most of what you just described is about information dissemination. What exactly do you mean by that word “information”?
I mean information that’s within each subsector of financial services, and not just investment- or securities-specific information. I mean information about the people in financial services, the events in financial services, as well as job opportunities, emerging themes that affect everyone in the business, and the opinions of leading lights in financial services. We are not trying to get every piece of information, just the things that help financial professionals advance their careers.
What do you consider NexChange’s mission?
Our mission is to disrupt the way information is disseminated in financial services and to unite financial services in one network.
As a financial pro, what can I do with NexChange that I cannot do already?
The biggest difference is that pros don’t always have access to everything that is behind a paywall. We are solving the pain point of convenience, chatting, connecting, and getting specific content all in one network. Part of what I can do is . . . connect with financial services professionals [who] are not a part of the “terminal” world. It is the first financial social network that is not trading oriented.
What is the “perfect storm” of disaster for NexChange?
We cannot build out our user base fast enough to make up for our cash burn. We cannot capture the mindshare fast enough and our users get what they need elsewhere.
Say you stumble across an antique lamp and after polishing it, a genie appears and grants you one wish for NexChange. What is your wish?
In 2016 we start to see a gigantic shift and increase in financial institutions adopting social media. Furthermore, they realize that they need a comprehensive voice and not just a social media platform that is narrow casted on only one segment of financial services.
What is a fantastic story you tell yourself about NexChange?
Someday I will be walking down the street in a small city with my daughter and we will be at a small restaurant and I will look over and I will recognize a certain specific color that is identifiable with NexChange and I will realize that person is using our app.
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All posts are the opinion of the author. As such, they should not be construed as investment advice, nor do the opinions expressed necessarily reflect the views of CFA Institute or the author’s employer.
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