Meet Brittany Wright | Founder & CEO

We had the good fortune of connecting with Brittany Wright and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brittany, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I think I’ve always been an entrepreneurial minded individual and thus have had an inkling in the back of my mind that I would one day start my own business, even if I wasn’t actively seeking out that path. In middle school, I made a bunch of mini “businesses”. In high school, I took an entrepreneurship class where I both got my first formal introduction to what entrepreneurship is and met my current best friend and cofounder, Kevin Loo. In college, I minored in entrepreneurship & innovation at Columbia and had the opportunity to take and be a TA for many informative classes in the field, so it’s been a consistent interest of mine from a young age.

In terms of what specifically readied me to start my current venture, Endex, I think a variety of factors including the pandemic and an internship I held during 2020 had the largest influences. Prior to 2020, all of my professional experience had been as an intern at a large bank on Wall St. I loved the company and the job’s focus on financial products, but after interning at a small VC firm during the spring semester of my senior year, the exposure to hundreds of startups reinvigorated my passion for entrepreneurship and the experience working for a small company where I was a part of building something new and could witness the immediate effects of my work provided me with a kind of professional satisfaction I didn’t get as an intern at a large firm. The pandemic was also a factor, as the start date of my full-time job was postponed, and as a result, I spent the majority of the spring and summer entrenched in the markets. Throughout the months, various startup ideas related to investing crossed my mind but ultimately none of them generated a passion deep enough to pursue, until I came up with the idea for what ultimately became Endex in the fall of 2020, just prior to starting my full-time job post graduation.

I started investing when I was 20, after an internship on an equity sales desk on Wall Street made me fall in love with the stock market and process of choosing investments, as well as the feelings of pride and excitement that occured when my portfolio would perform well. I came to recognize investing as a fun, fulfilling, and effective means of building wealth. Throughout the years, I would often share screenshots of successful trades or investments on social media and through texts to family & friends. I started receiving multiple requests from friends and family alike, asking for help modifying their portfolios or creating an investment strategy for them to get started. After the fourth request, I thought to myself I wish I could get paid for this and there’s got to be a better way to do this! Upon expressing these thoughts to my good friend Kevin, we researched products/platforms addressing one or both of these problems but discovered a lack of players with these offerings for retail investors. However, in researching we discovered a wide variety of opportunities and potential applications for a platform that enabled both portfolio sharing and monetization, so Endex was born.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Endex is a broker agnostic social investment platform that enables the actionable sharing and monetization of investment content through custom indexes. In simpler terms, we allow retail investors to create, share, and copy themed portfolios…think Spotify playlists but for stocks!

There are certainly many apps, incumbents and newcomers alike, in the social investing space, but Endex differs from the rest in three main ways. The first being the monetization opportunities that we offer. At Endex, we believe that the users adding value to the community by creating interesting, engaging, and high-performing content should be able to receive value back from us. We offer monetization opportunities through the Endex Leaderboard, subscriptions, and tips. Secondly, we are a broker agnostic platform, meaning Endex integrates with various online broker dealers so that our users have the option to link their existing brokerage account or create an account at one of our supported brokerages. Not only does this reduce the hurdle of getting started, but it also opens the app to all retail investors and provides a greater opportunity for community building. Keep your broker, ditch their interface, and broaden your investment capabilities! Lastly, our unique implementation of custom indexes (we call them “endexes”) enables users to not only create & share portfolios based on specific themes, interests, investment goals, risk preferences, and tax considerations but also to copy such portfolios. Beginner investors are able to browse & invest in transparent portfolios created by peers for free, while retaining full control of their investments and learning as they go. More advanced investors are able to better their skills, share their insight, and compete against other talented traders through endex creation.

As far as the journey goes, it’s been very exciting and rewarding, though not without its challenges, risks, and sacrifices. When Kevin and I decided to pursue building Endex, he had recently begun his full-time role, and I was just starting mine. Both of us were working jobs with 60+ hour work weeks, so we had to sacrifice some work-life balance as we’d immediately switch from our full-time responsibilities after the work day ended to researching our market and developing a business plan for Endex for 2-3 hours each day. Some factors, though, such as work from home were a blessing as I was able to use the time saved commuting to dedicate to Endex.

In the Spring of 2021, Kevin and I had the conversation about making the transition to work at Endex full-time, and this is definitely the point when I experienced the most fear and uncertainty. The decision to leave a comfortable corporate job for a risky startup was a difficult one, especially being early on in my career. I was able to overcome those apprehensions through the support and encouragement I received from my significant other, family, friends, and professional mentors. I was also very privileged and blessed to be in a position where I was able to save the majority of the compensation I received from my corporate job, so while losing income for the second half of 2021 was not ideal, I knew I’d be able to support myself and was extremely confident in our ability to execute our plans to put us in a position where I could resume taking a salary in the new year. I overcame founder doubt by re-immersing myself in our market research and business plans and strengthening our value propositions and competitive advantages. Ultimately, the final push I needed was thinking about the quote that says, “If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.” I was truly passionate about Endex then and now and can attest to the truth in that statement through my work with Endex.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
The first day, we’d definitely have to take a nice scenic, windows down (or top off) drive on the PCH and through Malibu canyon to take in the beauty of the coastline. We’d finish the drive in Santa Monica, where we could walk through the promenade and have lunch then down to the beach & pier to walk through the sand and enjoy some of the rides.

On day two, we’d drive to Long Beach and hop on the ferry for a day trip to Catalina Island. While there, we’d spend some time enjoying the beautiful shops & the surroundings in Avalon, get some pizza or seafood and finish lunch off with ice cream. Then we’d take a nice leisurely stroll to Descanso Beach club, where we’d relax on the chaise lounges for a while and grab some daiquiris at the bar. If I was feeling adventurous, I’d suggest the zip line tour near the beach club as another thrilling way to take in the views.

Day three, we’d visit LACMA and take the obligatory pictures with the lamp posts outside of the museum. Then we’d ride some scooters from LACMA to The Grove, where we’d enjoy some shopping. We’d walk over to Sweet Chick–my favorite chicken & waffles joint on either coast–for a delicious sweet and savory dinner. We’d finish the day watching Chocolate Sundaes comedy show at the Laugh Factory on Sunset strip.

Day four, we’d have brunch at République Cafe but would be sure to get there early to avoid the long lines. If it was a sunny day with clear skies, we could head up to Griffith Observatory to explore, snap some pics, and take in the views of Greater LA.

The next day we’d get up early for a sunrise hike at Runyon Canyon. The rest of the day would be relaxed, taking a stroll around downtown LA and making sure to visit The Last Bookstore and Grand Central Market for various eats.

Day six, we’d have to make the trek to either Disneyland or Universal Studios for a fun day of rides and roller coasters at an amusement park.

And for the final day, we’d have a fun day of shopping and lots of mini photoshoots for Instagram, enjoying time walking and shopping along Rodeo Drive, taking photos at the pink wall, and taking pictures on the famous palm tree lined Sunset Boulevard.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There’s so many experiences and people that have influenced or encouraged me to be able to get to where I currently am in life both professionally and personally:

I’d like to shoutout my cofounder, Kevin Loo, who took the plunge with me and has been all-in with Endex since I sent him that first text over a year ago.

I’d like to shoutout my parents for never doubting or discouraging me to follow my dream with Endex.

I’d like to shoutout all of my and Kevin’s family and friends who invested in us early on.

I’d like to shoutout Brett & Thanos at Charge VC for giving me the opportunity to intern there and ultimately leading to my renewed passion for entrepreneurship

I’d like to shoutout Jim Heal for being an all around great teacher and mentor and being my first formal exposure to entrepreneurship through the class he taught at my high school.

I’d like to shoutout Toy R. Valentine for the professional mentorship, networking, and encouragement she has provided me at the different stages of my career.

I’d like to shoutout our interns Alex, Callum, and Andy for the great work produced and contributions made over the last three months.

I’d like to shoutout Jeff Horvath and Alex Zhang, our regulatory and technical advisors, respectively, for their continued guidance and support.

I’d like to shoutout QUBIC Labs for the advice, guidance, and introductions they’ve provided since we became a member.

I’d like to shoutout RevRoad for investing in our team and business and contributing greatly to the development of our product.

Website: https://endex.app

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/endexapp/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittany-wright-412b26132/

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/endexapp/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/endexapp/

Other: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLqMSjEl-CU