Algorithmic Futures
100% Automated Trading Systems
I'm looking for feedback on my website and business, Algorithmic Futures. Through our website (www.algorithmic-futures.com) we provide automated trading systems to our customers as a completely hands-off way to trade the market.
I would love any feedback about my website design, marketing message, content and/or trading systems offered.
Most of my customers like the hands-off approach to trading, are looking for high returns (50%+ annual returns) and are seeking strategies that perform well when stocks or crypto are not performing well (i.e. 2022).
I really appreciate any feedback or advice you can provide in the comments or by emailing me. I've been building this business as a solo founder, so I am lacking outside feedback and advice, which will be very valuable!
Algorithmic Futures operates as a third-party trading system developer. We do not manage other people's money like a hedge fund, but we essentially license our trading strategies to auto-trade into customer accounts.
We've partnered with an introducing broker, the Fox Group, who sets up all of our customer accounts at TradeStation and monitors our trading systems. TradeStation is a trading platform with a built-in programming language, backtesting engine and algorithmic execution. The systems are set up on the Fox Group's remote server and trade into customer accounts as a completely auto-traded solution. We offer a monthly, quarterly or annual subscription options. Minimum account sizes start as low as $15,000.
Although the business required significant up-front research and development, partnering with our introducing broker really streamlines daily operations. Currently, my time is focused on updating performance on the website every month, answering inbound questions via email and calls, and focusing on marketing, content generation and advertising. When a new customer wants to sign up, I kick them to the Fox Group to complete the onboarding process. Once their account is set up and funded, I send an invoice via Stripe and the account is ready for trading.
I only spend about $500 per month on advertising (AdRoll, Google & FB ads) so the business is very profitable. Besides for advertising and WIX website costs, there are no other expenses. I have ~20 customers with payments ranging from $150 per month to $15,000 annually, so there is a wide range of CLV. I look forward to keeping everyone updated on my journey as I continue to build Algorithmic Futures!
I developed Algorithmic Futures in May 2020 as a way to offer my portfolios of trading strategies to customers for a subscription fee. I've spent over a decade researching hedge funds and trading strategies and I've determined that trading a portfolio of long & short futures strategies is one of the optimal ways to compound wealth. There are two primary reasons for this: 1) Futures allow you to use leverage; 2) Trading long & short can provide profits in bull and bear markets to generate consistent returns. I work in investment banking which provides good income via deal bonuses, so my goal is to put that cash flow to work in high-return strategies that are relatively hands-off and low maintenance.
Let me provide a little backstory: In February 2018, I quit my private equity job to start a hedge fund. Although I raised $3 million, which seems like a good start, I was miserable, isolated and stressed. I hadn't raised enough money to replace my private equity salary, I created too much pressure by giving myself a 12-month startup time frame (I had a kid on the way!) and I became very isolated trading at home in my boxers everyday without much personal interaction. I realized I needed a J.O.B., so I started interviewing and landed an investment banking position. Experiences shape your perspective in life and I was incredibly excited to work for The Man again. I wanted to continue to trade client accounts, so I began to program my strategies into TradeStation's platform to automate my trading and keep it running on the side.
While I was programming my strategies in TradeStation, I met with the Fox Group, a broker that explained if I licensed my trading algorithms instead of directly managing money, I could market my strategies online to acquire customers. Since my investment banking job takes up a large portion of my time, this was an ideal approach for customer acquisition and created a relatively automated business model. So I created a website (www.algorithmic-futures.com), set up a Google ads account and started slowly getting new customers. However, I realized that I had a lot to learn about advertising, content generation, and website design.
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Great read, thanks for sharing your journey. It's a fascinating path from running a fund to the "automated business model" you've built.
Your point about the learning curve of advertising and content generation really hits home. That's exactly the problem I'm trying to solve with my own project.
I'm building ScriptAlgo—a centralized, info-only hub for algo-traders. It's a curated directory of strategies, backtesting platforms, and brokers. The goal is to become a go-to resource that saves people the hundreds of hours of research we've all had to do.
Since you're deep into this, I'd be curious to know: what type of educational content or resource would have been most valuable to you when you were just starting to market your strategies? Your perspective would be incredibly helpful.
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just kindly bumping this, cus this article remained forgotten for some reasons
2 Comments
I am curious why you actually joined IndieHackers. Your product is not an IH and your target audience is not IH (who commonly boot-strap).
I am also curious, how to you plan to contribute to IH?
I get you desire to receive, a place to sense-check as a solo founder. Sense-checking is best done to an audience who gets your vertical business.
To answer your question direct -- IH approach to generating audience fm, would not suit your business. That is because your prospects require trust. HIgh trust in fact. Much higher trust than the basic trust level that must exist for any new prospect. So for example prospects would be WOM (word of mouth) from Investment brokers, stock brokers etc..
But for me your failing a bigger test. Lack of evidence. For a specialist in your field to even consider exploring your automated trading system, they would need to see the evidence. For example, how to you compare the Grinham brother's ?? Their automated trading system is now coming up 20+ years mature and have achieved 10-year annualised returns of 15%. Where are your reference articles like the Grinham brother's (https://www.afr.com/companies/risk-brings-reward-20060914-kab1r).
I know in the early days Richard bootstrapped his business. I know he and Angus got their first break long time back thru their connections with an investment firm. They had to prove to them first, even back then.
Today the degree of proof required is higher as an automated trading system for futures is not knew. You can benchmark yourself to the existing players.
Hope this helps.
Thanks for all the direct feedback! You bring up a few good points regarding the required trust from clients, but I think your misinformed regarding some the other items.
"Your product is not an IH and your target audience is not IH (who commonly boot-strap)"
-I actually think my product fits very well with the Indie Hacker community. There are a few key reasons; 1) I'm using programming and technology automation to develop trading bots; 2) I am entirely bootstrapped and have not raised any capital to fund Algorithmic Futures as a business; 3) I acquire all of my customers online through content marketing & digital advertising and offer a subscription-based service.
"IH approach to generating audience fm, would not suit your business."
-I already use many of the same marketing and advertising tactics of other Indie Hackers to acquire customers and its working well, although I have a lot more to learn! Trust is obviously important for any fintech product, so its good feedback that I should be focusing on that.
"But for me your failing a bigger test. Lack of evidence."
-I'm not sure why you say that I'm failing the 'evidence test'. I share my live track record, in addition to backtested performance on my website. This is the primary data that my customers rely on to get comfortable with my trading systems.
I'm not very familiar with this Australian hedge fund you linked to, but you have to understand the differences between a hedge fund (accredited investor, $250k-$1MM minimum account, locked capital) and Algorithmic Futures (non-accredited investors,$15K minimum, daily liquidity). My best performing system has generated 50%+ annualized returns over the past few years, while this Australian hedge fund has generated 15% returns. However, I do not know what there risk level is, which makes it difficult to compare.