Building a Future for Financial Education: A Conversation with Wisdm Founder Mick Kalle Mickelborg
I had the pleasure of interviewing Mick Kalle Mickelborg, the founder of Wisdm and a computer scientist and technology entrepreneur at heart. He grew up in Copenhagen, Denmark. At the age of 21, he started his first startup with his family, GOALS, aiming to help primarily young individuals set goals and achieve them. He raised 1 mln. DKK (equivalent to $150K USD) to build the startup, which sparked his journey of helping other people become more clear on their dreams and future.
In Denmark, he completed a bachelor's in computer science and later attended a master’s in business administration. He moved to Berkeley, California in 2021 after having studied at UC Berkeley on a scholarship. Here, Kalle was able to develop his skills as a startup founder and ambitious entrepreneur. This experience proved invaluable when he co-founded Wisdm, a financial education platform. Under his leadership, Wisdm secured coveted spots in both the Berkeley SkyDeck and CITRIS Foundry accelerator programs, boasting cutthroat acceptance rates.
What motivated you to launch your startup?
In 2020 during the outbreak of COVID-19, a massive surge of new investors entered the stock market. What made them special is that they were much less experienced, less knowledgeable about markets and information dissemination, they were much more bullish, and they were much younger. The median age of retail investing dropped from 48 to 35 in that one year. Not only that, but they underperformed the S&P 500 by 11%. It was very clear to me how an event like this prompted the need for educational services to be offered to this group of investors, which are young and inexperienced.
I saw firsthand how people in my network, often students, would lose money as they delved into the stock market, because of no experiences and very little knowledge. And this was after being laid off due to COVID-19 cuts. However, bigger financial institutions were largely successful during COVID. This made me think that the odds are against new investors on the stock market, and there is definitely something we can do about that. At Wisdm we see fintech as an industry that will help bring diversity, inclusion and make the stock market more democratic.
What is it that excites you about what you’re building?
Investing has always been shrouded in mystery for most people, and simply mentioning ‘stock market’ can be intimidating. We believe it should be accessible for everyone.
The technology behind what we’re building is cutting edge and is fascinating to work with. We are entering this new era where artificial intelligence is going to be leveraged in our everyday lives. It’s exciting to work with technology that is new and innovative with the potential to impact the lives of many people.
What has been your biggest challenge when growing your startup?
We are building something that is essentially taking very abstract and esoteric concepts, and simplifying it in layman’s terms. That in itself is a challenge. However, our biggest challenge has been team size. We’re a small team which means many people on our team are going to be wearing different hats. We also come from very different backgrounds and cultures, but that is also what is exciting. When working in an environment like this, being adaptable to many different perspectives is a must. Some of us may come from a more technical engineering background but we must also be aware of things such as finance, marketing and corporate strategy.
What are your future plans for your startup?
We are hard at work on our minimum viable product MVP which will be released later this year. After releasing our MVP and getting our first customers we’ll be raising our first round.
If you had to share, “words of wisdom,” with a Founder who’s about to start their own startup, what would they be?
Build a routine around your startup where you remember to take care of yourself, both physically and mentally. While working on a startup can be exhilarating and time-consuming, it’s crucial not to lose sight of the importance of maintaining your overall well-being.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
Website https://www.wisdm.app/
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/wisdminvest
This was very insightful. Thank you so much for joining us!
