Description

On this episode of the Scouting For Growth podcast, Sabine talks to Axel Thibon, founder of Wizest, the next generation of investment trading platforms. With his team, Axel aims to make personal investing more accessible, engaging, and aligned with today's digital platforms and changing consumer behavior. Today, people think that investing is complicated and intimidating. What if there were a platform to pair novice investors with financial experts?

Before Wizest, Alex worked in banking for over six years. He led and guided 4 M&A/integration projects for banks ranging from $300M to $15B, and led strategy and transformation initiatives at Renault Nissan Mitsubishi for 9 years and at Sabadell United Bank for 5 years. He has brought all that expertise to Wizest for the last 4 years. Axel has managed and launched a brand new digital bank from scratch. 

Sabine and Axel discuss why we need to make investing simple, the challenges with current mass-market wealth management platforms, how Wizest works, and the target market and sources of success.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Wizest democratizes access to the stock market through technology so everyone can invest just like the top 1%. A Wizest client has access to a team of financial experts who invest on their behalf, and the client can choose which expert to add to their team with a single click, instantly copying that expert's portfolio. 
• Axel had an interesting path before doing Wizest. He was a mechanical engineer for the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi group, in charge of developing components for electric vehicles. When attempting to invest for the future, Axel found the process complicated and unsupportive, which inspired him to enter the banking world, gaining experience launching a digital bank from scratch and eventually dedicating his efforts to making investment simpler with Wizest.
• Wizest solves the problems that limited capital investors face, with minimum investment barriers set by banks, the investor’s lack of experience and knowledge of the stock market, and the reluctance to invest due to the lack of inclusion and transparency on earlier platforms. 
• When you use Wizest for the first time, you see people. It is very welcoming and personal, with the financial investors sharing their personal profiles first, so you can get to know them before you see their recommended portfolios and understand their investment styles. 
• Wizest is working to form partnerships with corporations to increase their reach by offering Wizest memberships to their employees. This kind of service is to offer a service in between savings and wealth management or private investment. There is global potential for this kind of financial accessibility solution. 
• Axel recommends approaching investing as a personal experience. Rather than just approaching a bank and taking the standard route to retirement-type investments, take some time to fully consider your current financial situation and your goals. Stick to your plan and avoid reacting to every financial crisis. 

BEST MOMENTS

‘This is a journey that is shared by many of us. When we want to start investing with limited capital, we tend to go with cheap or even free solutions. If you don't have any finance background and don't know what to buy and what to sell, it's tough.’

‘It's not about the service itself, which is about being able to invest or trade, but how the investing happens. So that's what we decided to change with Wizest, which is different from the others because it's not only making it more convenient and accessible, but it is also changing how it is happening.'

‘From there, the user can choose one or several investors they like to build a team. They can build a team that will work for them. When I say that when you have $2,000, $5,000, and $10,000 to work with in Wizest, you then work with your team. Your experts help you build your real portfolio. The way you manage your portfolio is not by managing your underlying holdings but by managing your team.’ 

‘It’s not like setting up a lemonade stand. To be able to launch Wizest, we have to be able to make sure we have a secure solution that is compliant with regulations and that we have the right sort of technical integrations.’

‘When you put the plan in motion, the most important thing most people forget is sticking to the plan. Don't be affected by what is happening today or tomorrow in the market, or overreact and be scared, because when we look historically over the last hundred years, the markets are always up and down.'   

ABOUT THE GUEST

With his team, Axel aims to make personal investing more accessible, engaging, and aligned with today's digital platforms and changing consumer behavior. Today, people think that investing is complicated and intimidating. What if there were a platform to pair novice investors with financial experts?

Before Wizest, Alex worked in banking for over six years.

• Led and guided4 M&A/integration projects for banks ranging from $300M to $15B
• Led strategy/ transformation initiatives
• Managed a digital Bank and launched a new bank from scratch

ABOUT WIZEST

Described by Forbes as “far more authentic than Robinhood will ever be," Wizest is the next-generation investment trading platform. Our technology is democratizing access to the stock market so everyone can invest, like the 1%. Build a team of financial experts to invest on your behalf by copying their portfolios in one click. Optimize with performance leaderboards, pick experts you relate to and align with your values, then learn why they make their trades in your news feed. There’s no limit to the expertise at your fingertips!

Wizest aims to democratize the stock market and make investing accessible for everyone. The team believes everyone should be able to invest and achieve their financial goals, regardless of their experience or background.

ABOUT THE HOST

Sabine VanderLinden is a corporate strategist turned entrepreneur and the CEO of Alchemy Crew Ventures. She leads venture-client labs that help Fortune 500 companies adopt and scale cutting-edge technologies from global tech ventures. A builder of accelerators, investor, and co-editor of the bestseller The INSURTECH Book, Sabine is known for asking the uncomfortable questions—about AI governance, risk, and trust. On Scouting for Growth, she decodes how real growth happens—where capital, collaboration, and courage meet.

If this episode sparked your thinking, follow Sabine VanderLinden on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram for more insights.

And if you’re interested in sponsoring the podcast, reach out to the team at hello@alchemycrew.ventures