Most retail investors don't know what to do after they open a brokerage account. Sean Tepper was one of them until he built a traffic light rating system for stocks and turned it into a SaaS platform used by 13,000 customers across 50 countries.

In this episode of Startup Hustle, Matt Watson sits down with Sean Tepper, founder and CEO of Tykr, to break down the real story behind building a B2C SaaS product in a crowded fintech space.

They get into why Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger inspired a process engineer to build a stock screener, how Tykr cuts through 100+ data points to give investors one simple signal, the broker API nightmare that nearly broke their best feature, and why onboarding is harder than the product itself. Sean also gets honest about the hiring mistake he made for years—and what finally changed.

If you're building a self-serve SaaS product or trying to find your footing as a solo founder, this one's worth your time. Tune in to Startup Hustle now.

⏱️ Episode Breakdown

00:41 Introduction to Ticker and Sean Tepper

03:31 The Journey of Building Ticker

07:04 Understanding the Stock Market and Investment Strategies

11:09 Building Trust and Confidence in Investment Decisions

21:31 Acquisition Strategies and Metrics for Success

16:21 The Impact of AI on Investment Platforms

19:41 Challenges in Building a High-Tech Investment Platform

22:11 Key Lessons Learned in Entrepreneurship

25:33 Final Thoughts and Team Dynamics

Links & Resources

Connect with Sean Tepper on LinkedIn

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If you’re trying to get your team out of the basement and into real product ownership, this episode is your playbook. Stop being a ticket factory. Build teams that think, create, and lead.

Follow the show, rate it, and send this to someone who’s still trying to do “real Scrum.” They need it more than you do.