Meet our Premium Member Didier Matthey – Co-Founder and CEO at yeekatee

Please tell us about yeekatee.

yeekatee, founded in November 2021 and kickstarted in early 2022, has since evolved into an adept team of eight, devoted to reshaping the landscape of retail investing and social networking.

The initial spark for yeekatee came from my co-founder, Kei. He was drawn to the concept of a social network attached to a Cyprus-based broker but was hesitant about moving his wealth to this broker. Furthermore, he yearned for a platform that allowed for exchanges with his peers, who were using a variety of financial institutions. Recognizing a potential market demand, he convinced Ronald, André, and myself to explore this idea further, and thus yeekatee was born.

yeekatee stands as a distinct fusion of portfolio management, social interaction, and financial literacy. Our vision is twofold: to arm seasoned investors with a tool for managing their distributed portfolios seamlessly, and to guide novices into the world of investing.

Our users can automatically aggregate their portfolios by syncing from prevalent brokers and banks, or manually define virtual portfolios. What sets yeekatee apart is its exceptional precision and exhaustive analysis of portfolio statistics, not available in traditional e-banking platforms.

The core of our platform lies in its social integrative functionality. Users can share and discuss their investments (expressed in percentages, never absolute values) within their community, fostering a learning environment that enhances financial acumen through peer interaction.

Tell us more about your plans for 2023. What is your long-term vision?

At present, yeekatee is in a closed alpha testing phase for our MVP, preparing to transition into a public beta soon. Our immediate focus lies in learning from the feedback we receive from early adopters, in order to enhance the user experience of our platform.

As of now, our self-evaluation and external feedback suggests that yeekatee holds particular appeal to seasoned investors, offering them great tools. In the upcoming months, in collaboration with our educational partners, we plan to emphasise financial literacy, making our app more beginner-friendly. We envision implementing financial “guardrails” to help guide newcomers.

By 2024, we aim to expand into the first EU markets, with Germany being our top priority.

Our long-term vision is to create a specialised social network for investing, akin to how Strava caters to sports enthusiasts and LinkedIn serves corporate professionals.

What has been the biggest success that you have achieved in your startup?

Our main accomplishment so far has been the development of our MVP app, realised over the course of roughly 14 months. I take immense pride in our proprietary booking engine, a standout feature that represents the heart of our innovation. With limitless scalability, real-time valuation capabilities, and advanced portfolio figures and statistics computation, our engine can rival, or perhaps even surpass, most professional tools in the market.

If you could do it all over again, what would you do differently? What are your biggest learnings?

The real test lies still ahead. The coming months will prove pivotal in determining whether yeekatee truly meets a market demand. If given the ability to send this question forward in time, I would be incredibly interested in hearing a response from my future self 12 months from now.

Up until now, the most significant learning has revolved around effectively managing the scope of our MVP. 

In our initial enthusiasm, we set out to steer our MVP directly towards the founders’ ultimate vision, a pitfall that many startups may fall into. We soon realized that we were overreaching, trying to incorporate too many aspects at once. Consequently, we had to make the difficult decision to let go of certain features we held dear. This process, though painful, was a necessary step towards creating a more focused, manageable product.

What motivates you to continue your business every day?

Compared to my prior corporate role, the “vision” aspect in my current position is powerful and motivating. I truly hope yeekatee can make a difference, helping people look after their money better and avoid the common mistakes I’ve seen too often. My hope is to make investing not just fun and informative, but really practical.

Certainly, it’s also my hope that yeekatee blossoms into an economic success. I believe that by helping people become better investors, we’re creating a platform that’s not just socially valuable, but also has real potential to be economically successful. 

One piece of advice for someone just starting out with their startup?

A startup is a rollercoaster of highs and lows. The good times are amazing, like when we launched our MVP in alpha and received positive feedback. But be prepared for tough moments too, they’re inevitable.

Knowing and trusting my co-founders for many years has been invaluable, especially in tough times. It’s easy to collaborate when everything’s going smoothly, but when things go sideways or differences arise, that’s when true teamwork is tested. In a startup, you’re tightly knit – it’s not like the corporate world where you can somehow co-exist. Trustful relationships and mutual respect are critical to navigating these challenges. 

What does being a member of the Swiss Startup Association mean to you?

It plugs us into a vibrant ecosystem where we can network, share insights, and uncover new opportunities with fellow entrepreneurs and supporters. For instance, we met Dominique Rey from Numarics, previously interviewed here, at an event and they’ve since become our trusted accountants. 

I also think it’s key for startups to have a voice in society. It’s important to highlight the significant role we play, the opportunities we offer, and to voice our unique needs and concerns.

Would you recommend joining the Swiss Startup Association? 

Absolutely, I highly recommend joining the Swiss Startup Association. They offer a wide array of interesting events and presentations, and you to choose those most relevant to your situation. 

It’s great for networking with fellow entrepreneurs, investors, and lawyers, and offers a great opportunity for reciprocal learning experiences.

Have you ever visited the events of the Swiss Startup Association? If yes, which ones? Would you recommend them? 

I attended an event titled “Revision of the Data Protection Act and consequences for start-ups”, hosted by Pager Dreifuss in Zurich. It was an insightful, well-organized presentation that catered specifically to start-up concerns, delivered by expert lawyers who directly addressed our queries. The format was engaging and the fact that it was held in the evening made it accessible.

Is there anything that we haven’t asked you that you would like to share with us/the community?  

Feel free to reach out to us to discuss any potential ideas you might have. And naturally, I look forward to the opportunity of personally meeting many of you at an upcoming Swiss Startup Association event !

And lastly, remember to check out yeekatee when our app launches publicly in the near future. It’s certainly something you won’t want to miss! 

 

Find Didier Matthey on LinkedIn