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Wealthfront markets itself as an innovative fintech startup, but I see it as nothing but an asset mgt company that hired some developers to "prop it up". Not t

by dataker 11y ago

Wealthfront markets itself as an innovative fintech startup, but I see it as nothing but an asset mgt company that hired some developers to "prop it up". Not to commit an ad hominem, but I don't see tech-driven founders and/or a very strong engineering culture. https://www.wealthfront.com/management https://www.wealthfront.com/management

robzyb 11y ago
I work in the finance industry and only today found out about both Wealthfront and Betterment. Betterment is utterly awesome. Truly a product I'd expect to see from an innovative fintech startup. Wealthfront is... not.
- 7Figures2Commas 11y ago
  So you just learned about Wealthfront and Betterment today and somehow you've determined that Betterment is "utterly awesome" and Wealthfront isn't? I hope that whatever your role in finance, it isn't related to due diligence.
  - robzyb 11y ago
    I might've been a bit too black-and-white with my comment, let me clarify... Betterment seems utterly awesome. Truly a product I'd expect to see from an innovative fintech startup. Wealthfront did not. It was clear that Betterment cared about making a beautiful consumer-driven product. It was also clear that they've spent some time reimagining how personal finance works. Simplifying it. I also can't help but note that the fact that Betterment made me so excited (it really did) so quickly probably speaks very well of it. But then again, I'm a sample of 1. (Incidentally, I read your HN profile and rather liked the story in your 'about')
7Figures2Commas 11y ago
Yes, these days it's really difficult to credibly market yourself as an innovative company without a pair of 20-something lumbersexual founders who haxored their way into an exposed-brick office in SoMa. If Wealthfront really wants to prove that it's tech-driven, it should stop sharing technical knowledge[1] and organize more hackathons. Preferably hackathons in which the beer and laptop stickers flow freely. [1] http://eng.wealthfront.com/ http://eng.wealthfront.com/
- CPLX 11y ago
  > a pair of 20-something lumbersexual founders who haxored their way into an exposed-brick office in SoMa I think this phrase should be singled out and praised for introducing the word "lumbersexual" to our tech discourse.
  - mikeyouse 11y ago
    Ha.. It's been around for a bit; http://time.com/3603216/confessions-of-a-lumbersexual/ http://time.com/3603216/confessions-of-a-lumbersexual/
whafro 11y ago
I've worked with four of the folks on that list, including the one at the top, and would disagree pretty strongly. I don't know much about the day-to-day culture of Wealthfront itself, but if it's anything like the teams these folks ran while I was around with them, they have a pretty rigorous mindset that applies all aspects of the product – product, design, and engineering. My impression, just from looking at that page and knowing the four whom I know, is that it's a pretty legit blend of folks who really know finance led by strong technical product management.

by dataker 11y ago

robzyb 11y ago

I work in the finance industry and only today found out about both Wealthfront and Betterment. Betterment is utterly awesome. Truly a product I'd expect to see from an innovative fintech startup. Wealthfront is... not.

7Figures2Commas 11y ago
So you just learned about Wealthfront and Betterment today and somehow you've determined that Betterment is "utterly awesome" and Wealthfront isn't? I hope that whatever your role in finance, it isn't related to due diligence.
- robzyb 11y ago
  I might've been a bit too black-and-white with my comment, let me clarify... Betterment seems utterly awesome. Truly a product I'd expect to see from an innovative fintech startup. Wealthfront did not. It was clear that Betterment cared about making a beautiful consumer-driven product. It was also clear that they've spent some time reimagining how personal finance works. Simplifying it. I also can't help but note that the fact that Betterment made me so excited (it really did) so quickly probably speaks very well of it. But then again, I'm a sample of 1. (Incidentally, I read your HN profile and rather liked the story in your 'about')

7Figures2Commas 11y ago

Yes, these days it's really difficult to credibly market yourself as an innovative company without a pair of 20-something lumbersexual founders who haxored their way into an exposed-brick office in SoMa. If Wealthfront really wants to prove that it's tech-driven, it should stop sharing technical knowledge[1] and organize more hackathons. Preferably hackathons in which the beer and laptop stickers flow freely. [1] http://eng.wealthfront.com/ http://eng.wealthfront.com/

CPLX 11y ago
> a pair of 20-something lumbersexual founders who haxored their way into an exposed-brick office in SoMa I think this phrase should be singled out and praised for introducing the word "lumbersexual" to our tech discourse.
- mikeyouse 11y ago
  Ha.. It's been around for a bit; http://time.com/3603216/confessions-of-a-lumbersexual/ http://time.com/3603216/confessions-of-a-lumbersexual/

whafro 11y ago

I've worked with four of the folks on that list, including the one at the top, and would disagree pretty strongly. I don't know much about the day-to-day culture of Wealthfront itself, but if it's anything like the teams these folks ran while I was around with them, they have a pretty rigorous mindset that applies all aspects of the product – product, design, and engineering. My impression, just from looking at that page and knowing the four whom I know, is that it's a pretty legit blend of folks who really know finance led by strong technical product management.