Social media has transformed everything from news consumption to shopping, and now, Dub aims to do the same for investing. This innovative app offers an influencer-led marketplace where users can follow the trades of top investors with just a few taps. Think of it as TikTok meets Wall Street.
Founded by 23-year-old Steven Wang, a Harvard drop-out who began investing in second grade, Dub believes the future of investing isnโt about picking stocks but picking people. Instead of making individual trade decisions, users can copy entire portfolios of traders, hedge funds, and even those replicating high-profile politiciansโ moves.
The concept is already making waves. Dub has surpassed 800,000 downloads and secured US$17 million in seed funding, with another funding round seemingly on the horizon. However, questions remain about whether Dub can avoid the challenges that have plagued previous fintech startups.
The GameStop effect
Retail investing has changed dramatically in the past two decades. Gone are the days of high trading fees and outdated brokerage platforms, replaced by mobile-first apps like Robinhood, which made trading accessible to everyone. At the same time, social media is reshaping how people, especially Gen Z, approach financial decisions.
As a Harvard student trading from his dorm room during the pandemic, Wang noticed the intersection of these two trends: retail investing and influencer-driven decision-making. He saw the GameStop saga, Elon Muskโs ability to shift crypto markets with a tweet, and the rise of personality-driven investing. This led him to drop out in 2021 and launch Dub.
While the appโs average user is between 30 and 35 years old, Dub has also gained traction among younger audiences. Wang notes that even teenagers are discovering the platform, with one editorโs 15-year-old child expressing interest in โinvesting like Nancy Pelosiโ after seeing Dub ads on Instagram. Though Pelosi is not involved, traders on the app mirror her disclosed investments.
The idea has caught fire. โNancy Pelosi is up 123% on Dub with real capital,โ Wang says. โWeโve helped our users make millions since launching that portfolio.โ
Dub is not free. Users pay a US$10 monthly subscription, and top portfolios charge additional management fees. Dub takes a 25% commission. Growth has been driven by organic reach, as successful traders bring in their audiences, and aggressive advertising, particularly through meta platforms like Instagram.
Can Dub avoid fintech pitfalls?
The biggest challenge for Dub is avoiding regulatory scrutiny. Many fintech startups, including Robinhood, have faced legal battles over their business models. Robinhood, for example, was forced to remove its confetti animation for trades following concerns that it encouraged risky investing.
Dub is taking a different approach. The company spent over two years working with regulators before launching to ensure full compliance with financial laws. โWe didnโt just navigate regulation at Dub โ we embraced it,โ Wang says. Like Robinhood, Dub is a fully licensed broker-dealer.
Wang insists that Dub is designed to educate users rather than promote speculation. The platform includes risk scores, risk-adjusted returns, and portfolio stability metrics to help investors make informed choices. โMaking trading easy without expert guidance is just gambling,โ Wang argues.
To reinforce this, he points to Robinhoodโs decision to list the TRUMP meme coin ahead of Donald Trumpโs inauguration. While it initially surged, its value has since plummeted. โBig platforms that are now public companies need to make money, and that often means their customers lose money,โ Wang claims.
Some, however, remain sceptical. Critics argue that stock picking underperforms passive investing over time, with studies showing that most actively managed funds fail to beat the S&P 500. Wang pushes back against this, claiming such studies are โcherry-picked.โ He points to the success of hedge funds like Citadel, which consistently generates strong returns for wealthy investors.
Whether Dub can maintain its rapid growth and regulatory compliance remains to be seen. But one thing is clear: it has already shaken up the investing world, and its influence is only growing.
