Alec Beasley is on a mission to make options trading accessible to everyone. As Co-Founder and CEO of Investa, the UK’s first zero-commission options trading app, he’s leading one of the country’s most exciting fintech stories. Following a record-breaking Crowdcube campaign in 2024 — overfunded by 220% — Investa is back with a second round to fuel even greater growth. We caught up with Alec Beasley to talk about breaking down financial barriers, scaling a new market, and what’s next for Investa’s evolution.
Investa’s first Crowdcube campaign in 2024 was overfunded by 220%, making it one of the UK’s most successful fintech raises that year. What do you think resonated most with investors, and how are you building on that momentum in this second round?
There’s huge pent-up demand for options trading among UK investors, as it’s been a market that has remained out of reach for the retail market. Investa is breaking down the barriers that have previously made options inaccessible to non-institutional participants, which really struck a chord with investors the first time around. When people saw a fintech finally making options accessible, it was a compelling investment opportunity.
Now, with an engaged community of over 500 investors, we’re leveraging the network effects from that to make this round even bigger and better.
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Investa positions itself as the UK’s first zero-commission options trading app. For those less familiar with options trading, what’s the problem you’re solving — and why does accessibility matter right now?
There are two key problems right now. First, the only leveraged products historically available to UK retail investors have been CFDs and spread bets, with the latter even classified as gambling. We believe these products pose significant risks to retail investors, which is underscored by the considerable regulatory scrutiny surrounding them. They’re complex, often laden with hidden fees, and not always fully understood by those trading them.
Options are a competing product. On Investa, all options are traded through a cash account, meaning the investor pays the premium upfront and their maximum possible loss is limited to that amount, with no risk of further loss.
The second issue is accessibility. Because options have traditionally been out of reach, retail investors have had no effective way to hedge their position during market downturns. With put options, which investors sometimes compare to insurance, they now have a straightforward way to protect against market declines.
Crowdfunding is central to Investa’s growth story. Why did you choose to raise through the crowd rather than pursue traditional VC funding, and what has the community brought to the company beyond capital?
Crowdfunding is a fantastic way to build a community, and that is vitally important for a consumer business. By having users and potential users as investors, it creates a strong alignment of interest. If the company does well, ultimately, they will do well as shareholders, and that is really powerful.
The community has been amazing in terms of support beyond capital. There are always areas to refine and improve, especially in the early days of building a business. We opened a priority access window that allowed investors to use the app first, and when refinements were needed, they were incredibly understanding and supportive. This is something you are less likely to see if there is no alignment with the business.
You and your co-founders bring serious institutional experience from Citi and Freetrade. How has that background shaped your vision for Investa — and what have you had to unlearn building a product for retail traders?
At Citi, every day was spent facilitating the trading of options for institutional clients. However, despite being ‘professionals,’ we were unable to access the options market personally. This was incredibly frustrating. If we, with our experience, were not able to access the market, how could others? That was the catalyst for Investa.
Having Ian Fuller on board as well has been a game-changer. He was the co-founder and CTO of Freetrade, and they scaled to one million customers in three years. He’s the best person in Europe to be leading the technology side of the business.
These combined experiences have shaped everything about Investa, from the way the back-end is architected to the way users can interact with the app. We knew from day one we needed to strip back the complexity of options and make the experience both intuitive and transparent.
One of the biggest things we’ve had to unlearn is how to think like an institutional investor. The way institutions trade options is completely different to the way retail investors (including myself) trade options. Bank traders almost always hedge most, if not all, of their delta out to trade the volatility, whereas when you’re trading on your mobile, you’re likely taking a directional view on the stock.
The fintech space moves fast and competition is fierce. How does Investa stand out among trading apps like Freetrade, eToro, or Robinhood-style platforms already on the market?
Investa is the first mobile-based investment app in the UK where users can trade both stocks and options without paying commission. Compared to our publicly traded competitors, we have the advantage of building a community through crowdfunding campaigns and creating strong brand alignment.
Ultimately, we all compete at different ends of the market. Freetrade tends to have more first-time investors on its platform; eToro has a mix, which includes CFD traders. We are creating an entirely new segment of the market and building an options trading community. We also have numerous exciting customer acquisition and retention strategies launching in Q1 next year. One of which is extremely novel!
With Android launch and infrastructure expansion ahead, what are the biggest technical and operational challenges of scaling a platform like Investa while keeping it user-friendly?
One of the problems with any business that scales is attracting exceptional people. Great talent is hard to find, and the more you scale, the more great talent you need, which makes the task even harder. Whether the challenges are operational or technical, having the best people in place means almost any problem can be solved.
Financial inclusion is at the heart of Investa’s mission. How do you see options trading fitting into a broader culture of financial literacy and democratized investing in the UK?
Yes, financial inclusion has always been at the heart of our mission. Options have traditionally been seen as complex or out of reach, reserved only for institutions and professionals. By making options accessible and understandable, we’re not just opening up a new asset class; we are giving investors the tools to manage risk, speculate and generate income.
Finally, as Investa opens this new Crowdcube raise, what’s your vision for where the company will be a year from now — and what does success look like for you personally as its CEO?
When people think of sportswear, they probably think of Nike. When people think of FX, they probably think of Revolut. When people think of options, the only thing we want them to think is – Investa. We want to be known as the go-to place for people to trade options. You don’t get there if you don’t have thousands of customers actively trading. We are here to build a multi-billion-pound business.