We’re selling trust. We’re selling transparency. And to think that trust is actually a differentiator in a service business, it’s kind of a crazy thought, right?
– Brad Katsuyama, President & CEO, IEX on 60 Minutes, March 30, 2014
As reported on 60 Minutes last Sunday, Mr. Katsuyama is head of IEX, a firm that is “Dedicated to institutionalizing fairness in the markets.” IEX provides a trading platform that, according to the 60 Minutes report, protects against “front running,” the practice of trading on advanced information, (in this case intercepting orders as they are transmitted to buy ahead of the order).
IEX was launched just last year. Mr. Katsuyama is pegging his firm’s success on being able to provide a fair trading platform for all investors, potentially saving them untold millions of dollars. Trust and transparency as a differentiator? A crazy thought? Perhaps not on Wall Street. And perhaps not for other businesses as well.
Final Quote: From Elon Musk, founder of Tesla Motors and Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) who was the subject of 60 Minutes’ second story that evening:
If something’s important enough you should try. Even if the probable outcome is failure.