How One Company Is Changing The Company-Investor Relationship

For the second year in a row Benzinga is proud to host the Benzinga Fintech Awards, dedicated to recognizing the most innovative companies in the world of fintech. In anticipation of the May 24 gala, we're introducing you to those companies that will be in attendance.

Continuing our series, Benzinga presents LOYAL3.

Benzinga: Why did you start your company?

LOYAL3: LOYAL3 was founded on the principle that when a company takes individuals— like employees, customers, fans and partners—and makes them owners, those individuals become dramatically more loyal and valuable to that company. In essence, what LOYAL3 realized was that stock ownership was a revolutionary, underutilized asset that could be leveraged by brands. Based on that insight [LOYAL3] launched a series of products that made it easy for people to buy stock, receive stock as a gift or participate in IPOs.  And a powerful byproduct of this vision was the democratization of the capital markets as it results in more middle class individuals being able to invest and own stock.

Benzinga: What do you think makes your offering unique in the fintech space?

LOYAL3: While there are a lot of companies out there finding creative and new ways to buy and sell stock, we’re not aware of any platform that works directly with companies to use ownership as a brand engagement currency.  We believe the other distinction is that every other brokerage out there commoditizes investing, where we take a more holistic approach. We enable companies to provide IPO access or gift stock to hundreds of thousands of their employees, customers and fans, while also making it possible for new and smaller retail investors to invest as little as $10 in top brands and high-per share price stocks, and pay no transaction fees or commissions.

Benzinga: What’s one thing you want users to remember your company by?

LOYAL3: LOYAL3 is putting real stock ownership and IPO access in the hands of hundreds of thousands of investors, and is providing a tangible way for companies to reinforce affinity with their brand.

Benzinga: What drives you to get up every single day and work on your business?

LOYAL3: While some companies are fortunate enough to disrupt and restructure one industry, LOYAL3 is disrupting two trillion dollar industries—capital markets and marketing, and that’s worth getting up for.

Benzinga: How do you help people make money?

LOYAL3: We help people invest in their future by offering people that never before had the ability to own stock an opportunity to invest and become owners. For example say you only have $10 to invest, and you want to own Apple, Google or Tesla stock. Because LOYAL3 offers partial shares and there are no fees or commissions, we’re the only place where this is possible. We’re also one of the few places where small retail investors can participate in an IPO.

Benzinga: Do you offer investors any unique data points that can help their trading/investing decisions?

LOYAL3: We believe that buying stock should be as easy as buying a book on Amazon so we created an intuitive, user-friendly process that someone new to investing would be able to move through with ease.  We also provide free resources, like a calculator that helps investors calculate potential investments.

You can learn more about LOYAL3 by going to their website, connecting with them on Twitter and Facebook, and downloading their app from the iTunes or Google Play stores. For more information on attending the Benzinga Fintech Awards, submitting your company, or voting for the finalists click here.