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I just watched these guys on Dragon's Den.... anyone ever used them?
Vantage Wire Free Real Time Stock Quotes
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2,689 Posts
I don't know what the value proposition here is. Maybe it's just me but if I want to check the live quote, I log on to my discount broker to find out. I don't see why Kevin O'Leary signed up. Perhaps, the guys pitching did a good job sucking up?
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I saw them on Dragons Den as well. It's a great service to use in conjunction with IB who charge for real time data.
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Site that offers free realtime quotes
I watched a taped episode of Dragon's Den and the last entrepreneurs were able to secure $150k for 50% of their business from O'Leary. They have a website, driven by advertising fees, that offers realtime stock quotes on all NA exchanges for free.
It's vantagewire.com.
I just thought I'd pass that along to anyone who might be interested. I haven't checked out the site yet but I will do so on Monday. It may provide an opportunity to keep in touch when I'm not on a secure computer and don't want to long into my brokerage account.
I watched a taped episode of Dragon's Den and the last entrepreneurs were able to secure $150k for 50% of their business from O'Leary. They have a website, driven by advertising fees, that offers realtime stock quotes on all NA exchanges for free.
It's vantagewire.com.
I just thought I'd pass that along to anyone who might be interested. I haven't checked out the site yet but I will do so on Monday. It may provide an opportunity to keep in touch when I'm not on a secure computer and don't want to long into my brokerage account.
- I've had a Vantage Wire account for some time. (Over a year.) I stopped using the service because I found the website response time slow, and the ads annoying (even when using Adblock Plus in my Firefox browser). The portfolio editor was a bit hit & miss and the website felt amateurish.
- I found the owners (on Dragon's Den) to be really immature.
- There is absolutely no customer loyalty in this business. There are a plethora of other portfolio-tracking websites -- Google Finance, Intuit, Yahoo, my broker's website, etc., and many of these feel much more "slick".
- Real-time quote websites are a bit of a gimmick. If I really needed a quote right away -- a quote that I could trust, that is -- I'd log on to my online broker.
- I can't understand why they gave up half their business for $150k. They stated that they're pulling in $800k in ad revenue per year. As with many web businesses, Vantage Wire should possess a very high net profit margin (as in, it should be netting >= 20%). So walking away with only $150k seemed like a lousy deal, unless ... there was something fishy that wasn't revealed on the show. (Which, having seen those two guys, I am somewhat inclined to believe.)
K.
- I found the owners (on Dragon's Den) to be really immature.
- There is absolutely no customer loyalty in this business. There are a plethora of other portfolio-tracking websites -- Google Finance, Intuit, Yahoo, my broker's website, etc., and many of these feel much more "slick".
- Real-time quote websites are a bit of a gimmick. If I really needed a quote right away -- a quote that I could trust, that is -- I'd log on to my online broker.
- I can't understand why they gave up half their business for $150k. They stated that they're pulling in $800k in ad revenue per year. As with many web businesses, Vantage Wire should possess a very high net profit margin (as in, it should be netting >= 20%). So walking away with only $150k seemed like a lousy deal, unless ... there was something fishy that wasn't revealed on the show. (Which, having seen those two guys, I am somewhat inclined to believe.)
K.
Site appears broken right now.. I can login, but anything portfolio related says "you must be logged in". Depending on their terms of service you might be able to poll once a second which would give you the same level of streaming as Questrades Quotestream provided on the web platforms.
I ran their quotes through a decrypting proxying and found that the java app polls the server once a second for updates. Hardly streaming I'd say!
I ran their quotes through a decrypting proxying and found that the java app polls the server once a second for updates. Hardly streaming I'd say!
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15,845 Posts
o'leary is making a mistake imho, but then he's famous for slash-and-glitz, not for investment acumen.
the sleaze of the presentation at dragons tells it all. Designwise, website looks like an updated version of tout-ridden stockwatch. Same old newsletter "writers" & mine pumpsters are there. Audience/market is a generation of old men whiling away their time gambling on vancouver pennies. Some youthful newbies trying their hand at day-trading. Some undoubtedly have brokers accounts so small that they don't qualify for, or won't pay for, real-time quotes.
it's obvious that the dragons have the right to back out of any project once their accountants find holes in the dd. The 120-second standup on camera is just for show, the real decision comes later. If i were o'leary and so concerned about my good name and all, i'd stay away from this website-du-jour.
oh, it'll flash for a while, maybe year or 2, then crash as real-time becomes more cheaply available at all brokers. As for site visitors setting up trades in real time because they don't want to access their brokerage accounts ... or they don't have brokerage accounts ... these are virtual investors ... game players ... and they don't buy the tout letters either, as the advertisers will soon find out ...
the sleaze of the presentation at dragons tells it all. Designwise, website looks like an updated version of tout-ridden stockwatch. Same old newsletter "writers" & mine pumpsters are there. Audience/market is a generation of old men whiling away their time gambling on vancouver pennies. Some youthful newbies trying their hand at day-trading. Some undoubtedly have brokers accounts so small that they don't qualify for, or won't pay for, real-time quotes.
it's obvious that the dragons have the right to back out of any project once their accountants find holes in the dd. The 120-second standup on camera is just for show, the real decision comes later. If i were o'leary and so concerned about my good name and all, i'd stay away from this website-du-jour.
oh, it'll flash for a while, maybe year or 2, then crash as real-time becomes more cheaply available at all brokers. As for site visitors setting up trades in real time because they don't want to access their brokerage accounts ... or they don't have brokerage accounts ... these are virtual investors ... game players ... and they don't buy the tout letters either, as the advertisers will soon find out ...
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337 Posts
Great point, FT.
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2,689 Posts
No kidding. Arlene asked the guys "What's with the models?". Their answer: "They look better than stands." Real classy operation.
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I couldn't stand those guys - especially the shorter one (who fortunately did less talking).
I watched a couple of episodes ago when they did a review of various deals. Seeing how few of the "deals" actually make it to the funding stage kind of takes away from the show. They really don't make any deals on the show itself - just a loose agreement to continue talks.
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