Genuine Impact - Interview with the developer of a fantastic app

Did you have any prior development or coding experience?

Our CTO Alister Sneddon has over 10 years of coding experience. He has previously worked at 'Interactive Investor', 2nd largest brokerage dealer in UK, 'Moneyfarm', one of the reputable robo-advisors in Europe, and 'JHC', a large wealth management technology solution provider in UK.

Myself and our COO have previously worked in asset management firms, 'BlackRock', world’s largest asset management firm with over $6.4 trillion of assets under management, and 'Investec Asset Management', an established boutique asset management firm based in UK.

What was the most challenging aspect of developing mobile app?

The fact that we want to launch both in iOS and Android at the same time, within a 4 months time frame. We therefore went with a web-app solution. The app is quite investment IP heavy so the integration of complicated investment information into an easy user experience is another big challenge regarding design.

_{Truman Du}

Truman started his career at the world’s largest asset manager 'BlackRock' as an investment analyst, focusing on active equity investments in the public markets, in London, 2012. He later joined 'Investec Asset Management' in 2017, for a similar role. He was responsible for generating, researching and implementing investment ideas. The strategies that Truman's teams oversee at both firms have assets under management of $75bn. During his tenure at 'BlackRock' and 'Investec Asset Management', Truman consistently generated positive investment returns for companies’ clients. Truman was also an important team member in raising assets for the funds. He left 'Investec Asset Management' in 2018, to start his own company 'Genuine Impact Ltd'.

Name a few of your favorite apps and reason you love them.

'LinkedIn' for its huge connectivity and network effect. The 'Bloomberg Terminal' mobile app for its simple functionality, and deliberate lack of attention to design which as a result emphasizes its functionality.

How long have you been working on this app?

We started from October 2018. We launched the app for both iOS and Android this February 2019.

What need of the user did you have in mind when developing this app?

We target mass premium DIY investors who are hungry for high quality financial insights. They desire to make investments better, more efficiently with trustworthy and convenient solutions that are easy to digest and simple to use.

In what way do you think your app is better than similar apps on the market? Please describe in detail what innovation you think you bring and what you are proud of in your app.

We are the first financial terminal that is purely app based and targets mass premium DIY investors. Our design is modern and slicker. Our user experience is simpler with little input from users needed. We are also the first app that turns complex institutional data and news into simply to understand scores. For each security, all users need to remember is one score. This is quite an innovation in both investment and technology world.

What are your future plans and expected features of the coming new versions of this app?

We will increase the depth of the app for sure. More advanced and detailed presentation of stock and fund information without adding additional complexity. We will also introduce a brand new function called Investor League, sort of like “Fantasy Football” for investments.

Assuming new users of your app are reading this page. What do you want to ask them to do (contact you about X, Share the app, etc.)?

Use the app and tell us what you think about it. Inside the app, there is a very simple referral function. You earn rewards to our premium features if you successfully refer us to someone you trust and respect.