Why these student entrepreneurs decided to skill youngsters and traders on stock trading

Like every college student, Akash Jayan and Ritvik Vipin were looking at ways to increase their pocket money when they were studying at Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) in 2015. It was then that they stumbled upon stock trading as a way of making money. 

The duo came across many YouTube strategies, however, found that none of them worked. And without proper mentorship, they lacked the right market insights. 

“We learnt it through trial and experiment. We initially started by investing Rs 3,000 but it came down to Rs 700. By the time we were in the fourth year in the year 2017-18, we were making Rs 1,000 per day. By that time, many of our friends also approached us and we started teaching them. We thought of making a website for teaching stock trading, and started talking about it on Facebook groups. At first, two people approached us to learn stock trading and paid us Rs 2,000 as a fee. That was our eureka moment,” Akash tells YourStory. 

This led the duo to start Havenspire in 2019 in Bengaluru. “At Havenspire, we train laymen to become expert stock traders within a matter of nine weeks. One of the biggest problems with the Indian education system is that it does not encourage financial literacy. At Havenspire, we help people to become financially literate and manage their money well,” says Akash. 

The challenge was to manage money in order to invest as they were students, and convincing their parents to let them pursue their interests and allow them to skip campus placements. Even though Akash got placed, he decided to quit and continue at Havenspire. 

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The COVID-19 push 

“During COVID-19, we helped many youngsters, students, working professionals, housewives, and even older people to become expert stock traders and attain financial independence. Trading as a subject is still considered taboo in India where many people think that only loose money should be invested in stock trading. We undertook a humongous task to create awareness and change people’s mindset through masterclasses by speaking about the market analogies in simple terms,” says Akash. 

The team currently has 30 members and is looking to expand exponentially. Once a learner enrols in their masterclass programme, they undergo systematic, curriculum-based training. 

The team trains traders on WhatsApp for three weeks on weekends during the night. They are encouraged to apply the strategies they learnt during the weekend classes while trading throughout the week. They also avail multiple features and tools such as Havenspire Live for live trading with mentors, Havenspire Academy of Trade, breakdowns videos, and Live Trading Voice Channels. 

“They get a lifetime membership to our community of traders on the discord server, which is unique to Havenspire. The learners get to interact with expert traders from whom they can seek help while they are trading. All these features help the members to fast-track their journey to be successful traders,” says Akash. 

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Operations and future plans 

Akash says they started Havenspire with an investment of Rs 10,000, and the company is currently bootstrapped. The team has scaled by using its own profits and hit the first Rs 1 crore revenue mark in the first four months of operation. 

“Within a year of operation, we have crossed $0.6 million. Havenspire’s top-line revenue has now reached Rs 4.5 crore, achieving 250 percent growth in revenue within a year. We are in talks to expand at an exponential rate,” says Akash. 

The team generates revenue through enrolment in the masterclass programme. These enrolments mostly come from word of mouth and Instagram. The team leverages social media to reach out to the target audience. The prime focus is the student community.

The team charges Rs 30,000 per learner, which gives them access to several features, along with training classes and access to our community of stock traders. Akash adds the startup’s current operating profit margin is around 40 percent. 

While the team refused to share the business model, they added it works on building a community-based learning experience and focuses on practical learning. 

“We are now aiming at diving deeper into edtech industry and to stand at par with other leading edtech companies. Also, we are working towards expanding our user base and helping every Indian become financially literate. Simultaneously we are planning to venture into the world of fintech too,” says Akash. 

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The market

According to a PBS report India is now the sixth-largest stock market, overtaking France. And there is a growing base of investors. 

Currently, the startup operates in the same space as unicorns like Zerodha and Groww. 

Startups such as Birdfin, a fintech app that teaches money management to children through gamification; FamPay, India’s first neobank for teenagers that lets parents track spending and savings; Finin, a neobank that provides AI-driven insights on expenditure and tracks savings; and Walrus, a payments app for teens, are creating big waves by offering fintech solutions for children and young adults with their creative offerings.

“Every learner gets a lifetime membership to our community where thousands of stock traders meet and interact with each other, offering mutual guidance and support. This way, every learner turns into a mentor with time. In India, not many are lucky enough to find people having similar interests in their circle. Being a part of our community, learners get to interact with expert stock traders anytime,” says Akash. 

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