In 2020, alternative investment platform iCapital announced a $146 million funding round. In 2021, the company doubled that and raised a $440 million round at a valuation of $4 billion, which was followed by a subsequent $50 million round at a valuation of over $6 billion in December of that year. The following year it acquired financial advisory service startup SIMON Markets.
iCapital has been incredibly busy the past few years, and while all rockets eventually level off, the company doesn’t plan to shut down its thrusters any time soon. In fact, Ben Miller, head of product management for alternative investments, told Built In NYC that the coming year will bring just the opposite.
“iCapital is poised for a pivotal 2024,” said Miller.
Miller told Built In NYC that this coming year, iCapital will unify its platform to fully bring SIMON Markets’ offerings into the fold along with updating critical user dashboards and releasing new ones. As Miller put it, the goal is to demonstrate the company’s devotion to constant innovation and redefining the industry.
The key to realizing those ambitions is the product team.
“Every team member plays a role in executing this vision, but product and technology will anchor our success,” he said.
Built In NYC spoke with Miller about the projects iCapital’s product team will take on in 2024 and the role they’ll play in helping grow the business.
iCapital’s platform enables institutional investors — as well as qualified private investors — to access the world of private equity.
What projects does your product team have lined up for 2024, and how do they fit into iCapital’s strategic goals for the year?
A key initiative in the coming year — and in our evolution — will be unifying our platform to incorporate and highlight our structured investment and annuities offerings that came through our 2022 acquisition of SIMON Markets. This will create a much-anticipated one-stop shop for alternative investments, structured investments and annuities.
Major upcoming updates to our industry-leading investment dashboard will deliver aggregated reporting across all alternative investment asset classes, providing advisors with a single view of their client’s alts portfolio and performance. We’re also simplifying our subscription process, a critical step in the broader investment creation process.
We’ll release a new advisor dashboard to centralize the client onboarding and management process for advisors and introduce a first-of-its-kind, groundbreaking investment creation feature to the alts market. Furthermore, a substantial scale and performance initiative will be underway in 2024 to ensure our platform continues to outperform.
What makes these projects particularly interesting, challenging or exciting for product professionals to work on?
Considering the magnitude of our client base and their demands for innovative solutions, our product development often resembles laying down tracks while the train hurtles toward us. Forward momentum is essential but it can’t be at the detriment of what we’ve already built.
This brings with it a level of responsibility, excitement and reward that few other companies experience. Despite our best efforts, we don’t always get everything right. Our clients are the first to provide feedback, and the relationships and trust we’ve cultivated with them help to navigate these challenges.
Our 2024 roadmap and broader two-year plan are ambitious and will help us maintain our leadership position in the market. We have a clear idea of the direction our products and business must follow. We understand that plot twists are inevitable, but these unexpected hurdles are part of the fun of working in product.
Our 2024 roadmap and broader two-year plan are ambitious and will help us maintain our leadership position in the market.”
How is your team growing to help meet those goals?
In response to our outstanding growth and keen focus on meeting our clients’ needs, we’ve recently undertaken a reorganization of our product and technology teams. We now have a Chief Product Officer whose primary mission is to drive innovation and ensure the delivery of best-in-class solutions.
We’ve elevated product and technology to the forefront of the business, and we are embedding product managers with our customers as well as with associated relationship management and implementation team members. This collaboration will unite us in our pursuit of product excellence and stellar client experiences. These changes have led to a renewed sense of energy, drive and focus within product and technology as well as the entire organization.
To achieve all that lies ahead, we’re always looking for opportunities to grow our product and technology teams. We believe we already have the most outstanding product managers and technologists in the business, but we’re continually on the lookout for talented, motivated professionals who are eager to make a meaningful impact in the industry.
