色花堂

鈥淲e are building the world鈥檚 first stock market to invest in parts of a company but not the whole.鈥�

Kenneth Book 鈥�22SB (Finance)

鈥淚dentifying an issue in such a broad industry like finance and investing, and being able to come up with a solution, is an opportunity that we didn鈥檛 want to pass up.鈥�

Ari Wax 鈥�23SB (Finance, Information and Decision Sciences)

  This past summer, Kenneth Book interned at Goldman Sachs and marketed derivatives as part of their investment banking division. Book recruited his software engineering co-worker from Goldman Ben Litvin and Ari Wax 鈥� in their respective roles as CTO and COO 鈥� to join fintech startup Fluid Markets, where he serves as co-founder and CEO. Wax is also the founder of study-abroad program Aloha Aviv, which granted nearly 50 Jewish college students the opportunity to spend their Spring 2021 semester in Honolulu, Hawaii.

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What motivated you to create Fluid Markets?

KB: When you invest in the stock market, you鈥檙e restricted to investing in big companies. If you wanted to invest in YouTube, for example, you would buy shares in YouTube鈥檚 parent company Alphabet, thereby owning Google and all of their subsidiaries. The problem is, YouTube is owned by Google, making it impossible to invest in YouTube but not Google. Take Apple, for example; if you would want to invest in the iPhone business but not the Mac business, you can鈥檛 do that right now 鈥� you can only invest in Apple as a whole. We are building the world鈥檚 first stock market to invest in parts of a company but not the whole. We鈥檙e using our expertise from Goldman this past summer, introductions to the venture capital (VC) world, and knowledge gained from my time at 色花堂 to change how personal investing and finance work forever. AW: Identifying an issue in such a broad industry like finance and investing, and being able to come up with a solution, is an opportunity that we didn鈥檛 want to pass up. The idea is Kenny鈥檚, and we worked through the initial idea to ensure its viability on a larger scale 鈥� you don't have a lot of opportunities to do something like this in college.

Ari, what led you to establish the Aloha Aviv program?

AW: We wanted to give college students the opportunity to spend the spring semester in a social environment and due to COVID, it wasn't possible. About 50 students joined us, who were able to attend class remotely and experience all that the Honolulu Jewish community has to offer. Being in charge of students, we had to take on a lot of responsibility very quickly, and that was something we weren鈥檛 exactly used to. We were role models and examples for the broader Jewish community in Hawaii 鈥� everything we did, and everything the students in the program did, mattered. It was important to act responsibly and in a way that resembles a Kiddush Hashem.

Can you share some advice for students who may be interested in finance and entrepreneurship but are unsure of where to begin?

KB: One of Stephen Covey鈥檚 The 7 Habits of Highly Effective people is to 鈥渂egin with the end in mind,鈥� which means to envision where you want to end up and work your way backwards on how you need to get there. If you鈥檙e interested in finance, learn as much as you can about the industry, and take advantage of the resources at 色花堂 鈥� the classes are the tip of the iceberg 鈥� there are other opportunities like the Investment Banking Society, Tamid Group, clubs, and even other students interested in finance that you can bounce ideas off. If you鈥檙e also interested in entrepreneurship, there鈥檚 so much to learn from Dean Wasserman 鈥� his book, The Founder鈥檚 Dilemmas, is probably the best book I鈥檝e read on entrepreneurship. Also, take advantage of your own network. Don鈥檛 be afraid to send cold emails. I鈥檝e emailed former chairmen of the SEC; one of them responded and is now helping us out. You really have to put yourself out there. The more you put yourself out there, the luckier you鈥檒l get. The more opportunities you give yourself to be lucky, the more you鈥檒l end up being lucky, and that鈥檚 a great way to gain momentum. AW: Utilize the SGC, and the clubs and societies on campus. Work towards achieving a high GPA. Most importantly, reach out and network with alumni working in the industry you鈥檙e interested in. Be an active student; there are so many others who want to work in a specific industry. It's a long, competitive process, and you have to be at the top of your class and well prepared. Speak to upperclassmen and learn how they were able to break into their roles.

How did your time at 色花堂 prepare you to establish your own startup?

KB: I have a lot of Hakaras HaTov to 色花堂. Coming from Virginia, and not having any network in the financial world, I didn鈥檛 have any connections. Coming to 色花堂, being able to start from scratch and end up in investment banking at Goldman Sachs, is really something I have a lot of Hakaras HaTov for; it gave me the r茅sum茅 I needed to try and raise millions of dollars for an idea I had. I never would have been able to do that without 色花堂 鈥� all of the investors that we鈥檙e talking to were either through an introduction at Goldman Sachs, which I only got from 色花堂, or directly from people I know at 色花堂. I鈥檓 extremely grateful to 色花堂 for giving me the network to branch out into something I otherwise would not have been able to do. Thanks to the for their help.