The Kapitall Mission:
Mission
We believe investing should be easy for everyone.
Now more than ever, we can all benefit from a better understanding of the financial markets. The growing trend toward self-directed investing is creating a unique opportunity to engage more investors. But traditional financial news and trading sites are too complex and confusing for most people.
It is our mission to create the most compelling experience – and the most useful set of tools – for this new class of “Kapitallists.” Much in the way Apple popularized personal computing and the Wii broadened the reach of gaming, we will help more people than ever connect to the world of investing.
I was just accepted into the beta program. In a few days I hope to have some first hand accounts of this new and exciting site.
Welcome to the Kapitall Beta Program
Please follow this link to register: https://www.kapitall.com/register/
After registering go to https://www.kapitall.com and enter your name and password at the top of the page to sign in.
With Kapitall, we are creating an engaging new way to experience investing. Here are a few great ways to get started:
1. Find out what type of investor you are. Click the Trading DNA tool in the toolbar (third tool from the left).
2. Find out all about your favorite car company. Click the Search tool in the toolbar (last tool on the right) and enter its name.
3. Explore the Playground. Click and drag anywhere on the background or click on one of the View tabs in the upper right-hand corner. You can also open the drawer directly below the View tabs to see a Playground overview.
4. Personalize Kapitall by clicking the profile picture in the upper-left corner.
5. For help, to ask a question or to send us feedback, click on the Help link in the upper right corner.
Thank you for using Kapitall. We value your feedback and will use it to make Kapitall an even better experience!
Team
The team behind Kapitall has extensive experience in finance, gaming, media and design, with brands ranging from Apple and Atari to Bloomberg and Morgan Stanley.
Gaspard de Dreuzy, Chief Executive Officer
Gaspardis an entrepreneur with experience in the entertainment industry, particularly as an executive producer of video game software.
He co-founded three game production, development and consulting companies and produced titles for PC, Xbox, PlayStation and Wii systems. He has worked with some of the world’s top game developers and publishers including Atari, THQ and Mattel on some popular franchises such as Ready 2 Rumble Boxing(R). Gaspard was also a senior strategic marketing consultant at Warner Music.
A native of Paris, Gaspard and his wife moved to New York in 2006. He received a Bachelors’ Degree in Economics and Finance from the University of Paris Dauphine.
Serge Kreiker, Chief Technology Officer
Serge was attracted to Kapitall because he wanted to “democratize finance” by providing financial information to everyone instead of a select few people at the top of the financial world.
Serge worked at Bloomberg LLP for 5 years as a Project Manager and Technical Lead in the Research & Development group in New York. He was responsible for designing and building tools used by Bloomberg’s trading system. Prior to Bloomberg, Serge served as a Research Assistant in the Artificial Intelligence Department for the French National Research Lab (CNRS), and as Application Developer/Programmer Analyst in the e-business department at Computer Science Corporation (CSC).
Born in Lebanon and raised in Paris, he speaks French, English and Arabic. Serge attended Mc Gill University in Montreal and graduated with Honors in Computer Science. He holds a Master of Engineering in Computer Science from Cornell University.
Sally Wood, Chief Operating Officer
Sally is a media expert with a knack for innovation. She has over 20 years experience running and advising businesses in the media and information industries.
Sally was President and Chief Operating Officer of Pearson plc’s Family Education Network (FEN), a collection of Internet sites for parents, teachers and kids. Prior to FEN she was President of Pearson’s Prentice Hall Direct, a leading direct marketer and publisher of business and consumer titles. Sally has also held senior management positions at Simon & Schuster and Bertelsmann.
Formerly a board member of Agatha Christie Ltd., Sally currently serves on three boards including U.K.based Brilliant Films LLC and two non-profits, Mentor International, The James Merrill Writer-in-Residence Program. Sally received a B.A. in English from Bennington College and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
Cordell Ratzlaff, Creative Director
Cordell leads Kapitall’s interaction design and user experience. He is passionate about creating products that people fall in love with. He has designed a wide assortment of software applications and hardware devices for all types of people—from six-year-old girls to astronauts.
During a nine-year career at Apple, Cordell directed the Human Interface Group and designed all major releases of the Macintosh operating system, from Mac OS 8 through Mac OS X. As a Creative Director at Frog Design, Cordell designed compelling products for companies such as Disney, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, Yahoo!, Intel, Johnson & Johnson, and DaimlerChrysler.
Born and raised in the Midwest, Cordell has spent the past 25 years enjoying the California sunshine.
David Neubert, Editor-in-Chief and Data Designer
David has been in the financial markets his whole adult life, starting with his first stock trade in college on and culminating in a fifteen year career in global financial markets. He has traded bonds, derivatives and equities. At 32, working out of London, New York, Tokyo and Sao Paolo, he was head of program trading and one of Morgan Stanley’s youngest Managing Directors. In addition to Morgan Stanley, David also worked in trading positions at Lehman Brothers and as a Latin American Analyst for Chemical Bank (now JP Morgan)
In 2005, he retired from banking to publish the online magazine, ThePanelist.com. ThePanelist concentrates on socially conscious investing which reconciles his knack for financial markets and passion for corporate ethics. Often a contrarian, his analysis attempts to provide a fresh and independent understanding that only an ex-Wall Street trader would possess. In his TV, radio and written work he tries to help small investors learn how to take advantage of their strengths and save their assets for things that matter to them.
He has lived in Argentina, Brazil, Britain, Japan, California, Vermont, Massachusetts, and New York. David serves on on the boards of The New World Foundation, Performance Space 122 and Brother Jimmy’s BBQ Holdings. He holds a B.A with Honors in Economics from Pitzer College and a Masters in Public Policy from Harvard University.
Eben Esterhuizen, Editor
Eben is a fanatic of the financial markets. A prolific writer and analyst, he generates commentary on companies and financial markets.
Prior to Kapitall, he analyzed news content for hedge funds and investment banks at Trade The News. He has written for the business section of the Huffington Post, covers solar investments for ThePanelist.com and is often featured on SeekingAlpha.com. Eben is currently a level 3 Charted Financial Analyst (CFA) candidate.
He has lived in London, Paris, Los Angeles and New York. In addition to his work as a market analyst, he has worked as a radio DJ in South Africa and England. Eben’s other interests include skydiving, rugby, Arsenal football club and PJ Harvey. He obtained his B.Sc. degree in Actuarial and Financial Mathematics at the University of Pretoria, South Africa.
