An Early-Stage Startup Ecosystem Rating System; Interview with James Giancotti, CEO and Co-Founder of Oddup
In this age of digital transformation, when many new businesses are sprouting up to meet the demands of post-covid, customer satisfaction is very important, and an early-stage startup ecosystem rating system is even more important because it helps investors and sales teams determine how well the startup is doing. Both of these factors are very important in determining how well the startup is doing. Oddup’s Chief Executive Officer, James Giancotti, spoke with TechBullion about the platform and the various prospects it offers.
Could you please tell us a little bit more about who you are and what you do?
My name is James Giancotti, and I am the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Oddup, a grading system for startups. Despite the fact that I hold a law degree, I started my professional life in the consulting industry with Deloitte. After that, I worked in investment banking and research for Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan. After over a decade of advising high-growth firms, I decided to follow my enthusiasm for new businesses and innovation by transitioning into the roles of investor and entrepreneur. Since then, I have worked as a partner and made investments in prosperous companies around Asia, eventually selling my stake in two of those businesses prior to co-founding Oddup.
Now, I manage multiple duties as the CEO of Oddup and Alluva, the largest global analyst marketplace for crypto assets. Alluva was recently acquired by Oddup.
What is Oddup?
The quick response is a ranking system for ecosystems of early-stage startup companies. Oddup is a data-driven platform that gives investors and sales teams with a complete analysis on the potential success of a startup. This is the more comprehensive response to the question of what Oddup is. Our rating method is predicated on an algorithm that compiles data that is typically gathered during the process of performing investment due diligence. This algorithm takes into account aspects such as quality, growth, location, investors, market, regulations, valuations, and investment returns.
What is the present size of the worldwide market for business intelligence, and what trends should we keep an eye out for?
In 2020, the market for business intelligence was estimated to be worth more than $20 billion, and its expansion is only projected to accelerate going forward. The acceleration of demand is being caused by factors such as digital transformation, use of cloud computing, and an overall increase in the generation of data.
There is an incredible quantity of data that can be accessed as the world continues to become more digital. It is estimated that 2.5 quintillion bytes worth of data are created every single day. Solid data can be an asset that propels a company ahead or, in our case, makes a good investment decision. This is especially true in the context of firms looking to obtain an edge over competitors.
What is the current global market size of the business intelligence market and what trends should we look out for?
Our evaluation methodology takes into account both the perspectives of our in-house analysts as well as the results of an algorithmic calculation. The Oddup Score is generated by the system after data are gathered and analysed, taking into account factors such as quality, growth, location, investors, market, regulations, valuations, and investment returns.
The startup rating scores, which are comparable to sell-side equities research, offer an objective opinion that is founded on proprietary research and is presented in the form of three different views: buy, hold, and sell.
We presently track entrepreneurial and investment activity across more than 300,000 companies, 63,000 investors, 15 industries, and 30 territories. This provides our customers with a tremendous quantity of data that enables them to simply conduct due diligence and evaluate companies against industry peers.
As a former investment banker and strategist, how much does your experience at Deloitte Consulting, Capgemini, JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs influence your decisions at Oddup?
I spent over a decade analysing the financials of different firms to ascertain their value and analyse the investment opportunities and hazards that were presented to me. I witnessed firsthand the difficulties that the vast majority of institutional investors continually encountered, and the most significant barrier was a deficiency of trustworthy gathered analyst views that were objective and overcame subjectivity. We developed Oddup to solve this problem and provide investors with greater openness and knowledge so that they can make more educated decisions regarding their investments.
Oddup recently made the announcement that it would be entering into the cryptocurrency market. How does Oddup intend to guide investors in selecting the most promising cryptocurrency firms in which to invest?
Our objective is to become the most trusted source of information and data in the startup industry for all types of financial transactions including investments. As part of our expansion into the cryptocurrency industry, we intend to utilise the time-tested procedures of data collection and analysis that we have developed in order to provide investors with tools that are adaptable to the changing environment.
As evidence that the cryptocurrency business is heating up for investors, crypto-related companies brought in more money in the first quarter of this year alone than they did in all of 2020 combined. However, as institutional investors rush to engage in cryptocurrency businesses, the question arises of how we can avoid repeating the high-risk scenarios of the past, such as participating in mostly unregulated initial coin offerings. This is the problem for which we intend to provide a solution.
Do you have any available opportunities for investors and partners at Oddup, what is next on your roadmap?
With an eye toward the future, we are in the process of forming relationships with a number of significant companies in the investing industry. In order to provide our customers with increased visibility in the startup and cryptocurrency industries, we will be expanding the platform to include additional charts and data guided by analysts. Additionally, we will be launching some new offers that will assist in fostering investment in cryptocurrency firms that are still in their early stages.
Do you have any further information that could be helpful to our readers?
Be sure to follow the Oddup Blog and connect with us on Twitter and Facebook, where we announce all of our newest projects and opportunities for people to get involved.
