We are committed to providing fast, efficient, and affordable software solutions that set new standards in the software development industry.
  • Motif: A New Kind of Investment Company
Technology Articles > Software > Business > Motif: A New Kind of Investment Company

Bitcoins: a hot topic in the tech world. But what about old fashioned money? You know, real, tangible, "I can hold it in my hand" money. When it comes to investing, the dollar isn't going anywhere any time soon -- contrary to popular belief.

If you have extra dollars kicking around, you could take them to the online stock startup Motif Investing, which allows you to choose a motif, or theme, to invest in. The company just issued a press release announcing they've raised $25 million in Series C funding thanks to a group of investors including Goldman Sachs and Motif investors Ignition Partners, Norwest Venture Partners, and Foundation Capital.

About Motif Investing

Founded in 2010 by Hardeep Walia, the company has raised $51 million in all. The service was launched last summer to the public, and since then, over 7500 motifs have been created.

"Motifs" are merely investing ideas. The Motif website breaks it down quite simply using Home Improvement as the motif. The motif: people are renovating their homes. Any stocks related to that motif, such as Lowe's, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Craftsman, are analyzed.

The Motif site gives weight to up to 30 stocks in order to create a motif, which is then available to purchase for 9.95, rather than your typical management fees charged by traditional money management services. You are able to customize the motif any way you'd like -- weighting stocks differently, adding, or deleting stocks -- until you are satisfied.

It's truly innovative. In this way, one doesn't need to know anything about investing. Simply choose an idea that is experiencing significant growth, such as cloud computing, and Motif will find you the companies you should be investing in.

The site lists motifs such as Natural Gas Glut, Content is King, Child's Play, and Discount Nation just to name a few. It also offers an app, Motif Explorer, to be in-the-investment-know on the go. In its short existence, it has attracted both first-time investors and "ultra high-net-worth individuals."

'The Next Step

After this infusement of Series C funding, Motif will be working towards the next phase: designing the service to work well for financial advisors. Walia sees these advisors using Motif's unique service for clients. There are other projects in Motif's future, but Walia isn't talking about them just yet.

As a company, Motif employs 40 full-time employees. They plan to continue growing, adding more staff in the future, with a focus on engineers.

Later this year, the company plans to allow customers to purchase user-created motifs, which will in turn pay royalties to the person who created it.

The real question: will someone make Motif an acquisition offer they can't refuse? It is often the case someone sees the value in an innovative service such as this and wants to buy their way in. Walia plans to keep things just as they are. Though he's grateful for the investors they have, he has no intentions of selling out.