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Grain — The simplest way to start investing.
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Tom Bielecki
Something about your marketing really rubs me the wrong way. You're dealing with people's money, shouldn't you be more serious about providing enough information to people before selling them stocks? Your website contains almost zero information about your product and company. Why should I trust you with my money, my friends, or my data? What does Watson actual provide me with as a benefit? Who sees my data? What are the risks?
I hope apps like this don't give FinTech a bad name.
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@tombielecki I'm sorry you feel that way. Our priority is to help people make informed decisions without feeling overwhelmed, so we very carefully consider the information we display.
Grain is geared more towards ETFs (Exchange-Traded Funds) rather than stocks. Individual stocks carry greater risk especially if you're new to investing and don't know what you're doing. For ETFs, we provide a scoring methodology as a baseline for your research. It takes into account liquidity, expenses, and diversification. A full explanation of this score can be found on our website at https://grainapp.io/faq
For new brokerage accounts opened, we work with Third Party Trade LLC, a brokerage firm registered with the SEC and member of FINRA and SIPC.
For other brokerage accounts that you link to Grain, we use a service called TRADE IT, which makes sure brokerage information is always fully encrypted and verified by VeriSign and TRUSTe. TRADE IT uses the same 256-bit encryption that banks and brokers use.
@tombielecki if you have more concerns, please email me at joe@grainapp.io. I'd be happy to continue the conversation. We'll continue to work on our marketing materials to better convey information about Grain as a company and a service.
@tombielecki I found all the information easily. Try to give more constructive feedback. They clearly have a privacy page.
I enjoyed the site. Nice job Joe & team.
@joemueller26 @tombielecki I had a similar reaction at first, because the screenshots led me to believe that you are turning buying individual stocks into a fun and social experience. The screen that led me to think that was:
After seeing that screen, it admittedly biased my view of the product from that point forward.
If you are indeed pushing people towards ETF's, then that is great!
After seeing that screen, it admittedly biased my view of the product from that point forward.
If you are indeed pushing people towards ETF's, then that is great!
Talented team with a product that focuses on making investing more approachable, fun and empowering - which is sorely needed in the market and a great breather from all the roboadvisor hype! One of the easiest ways for a first time investor to get started. I'm excited to see where this goes!
Because I'm sure someone else will ask - how do you guys differentiate from Stash?
@tim061693 thank you! Both Stash and Grain give you tools to build your own portfolio.
Stash offers 30 ETFs that their investment team selects for you. On Grain, you can compare at-a-glance all U.S listed stocks and ETFs using our ETF scoring methodology.
You can use Grain to find investments that align with your values and beliefs with our search tool powered by IBM Watson, which connects any concept or keyword to related investments.
We also place more of an emphasis on the community aspect of investing alongside your trusted friends and family, without ever disclosing the amount you invested or the percentage you gained / lost.
Hi Joe, really like your product. Can Canadians sign up for it? There isn't any app like this here in Canada...
@jjloic thank you! To sign up for a brokerage account, you currently need to be a U.S. citizen. But you can still play with the app without a brokerage account while we work on our future plans for international expansion.
Hi Product Hunt!
My name is Joe and I’m one of Grain's co-founders.
My team and I built Grain to help new investors take their first steps in building their own portfolio. Our vision is to be the place where you go to take complete control of your investments, without feeling overwhelmed by piles of data and confusing reports.
First, learn how to build a diversified portfolio by easily comparing the best investments (U.S. listed stocks and ETFs) at-a-glance.
Second, personalize your portfolio by finding investments that define your values and beliefs. Grain’s search tool powered by IBM Watson allows you to discover investments by searching any concept or keyword.
Lastly, invest with your friends and family (think Venmo-style activity feed). You’re not in this alone, so you shouldn’t feel that way! You can open your own investing account in less than 2 minutes (powered by Third Party Trade LLC, member FINRA & SIPC), or simply link a pre-existing account with a major U.S. broker.
That’s it! We welcome any feedback, so please share with us your thoughts and suggestions!
@joemueller26 Cool product! How does this differ from @ellevest (besides targeting women)?
@nassaraf good question. From my understanding of @ellevest, Grain is a more self-directed product and it's built primarily for mobile. Our tools give you the ability to compare and control what investments go into your portfolio, even if you are new to the stock market. So we don't build your investment portfolio, you do.
Really interesting product. I really like the way the information is displayed. Are you guys planning to launch a website in addition to the app?
@aisling_browne2 thanks! No official launch date set for web and Android, but we're working on it!
@joemueller26 No worries! Ah very good - I look forward to checking it out. Good luck with everything.