DC: What are your names, majors, and graduation years?
Shaw: Cameron Williams, Mechanical Engineering, 2021 and Damian Shaw, Computer Science, 2024.
DC: In two to three sentences, how would you describe your startup?
Williams: Athenus is an app that allows traders to participate in the foreign exchange market. The app is powered by Machine Learning AI that helps traders manage risk by knowing which trades to enter and how to manage their trades. With Athenus, it has never been easier for amateur investors to get started trading currencies.
DC: At what point did you know you wanted to create your own startup?
Shaw: Having a startup has been our dream for a very long time. Maryland’s alumni have started large, successful companies like Google and Oculus, with one of the most recent being Squarespace, however we wouldn’t describe ourselves as people who would brainstorm ideas. We knew most of the best ideas stemmed from need or identifying a gap in the market. We had noticed that a lot of people really struggled with investing and Cameron has been investing for a very long time. We saw that there was a huge opportunity there and with the help of Dingman Fridays, we were able to consolidate our initial idea to what it is today. Once we identified that there was a gap in the market and that our solution seemed viable, we decided to just go for it.
DC: What or who is your biggest influence for your startup?
Williams: Our customers who don’t know they are our customers yet. One thing that motivates us everyday is the amount of people looking for ways to get started in investing but they buy into a program that can “teach them how to get rich”. These programs are always a scam but so many people fall for them because they really want to learn and the people that run them know that they can’t provide any valuable knowledge. It is blatant exploitation and one of Athenus’ main goals is to provide a rewarding alternative so that people can truly build wealth for themselves.
DC: In the new virtual world, how has your focus or ideas changed?
Shaw: Our idea has not changed but our market has gotten larger, which is evident from many other fintech companies and financial events. The recession has caused more people to want to earn money, people have had time to learn about investing and are more interested in it. Right now is the perfect time to get people started with investing, especially in a market that they may not be as familiar with.
DC: What updates or significant accomplishments can you share with us about your company from the last six months?
Williams: We have raised over $11,000 through a crowdfunding campaign. The alpha of the app has been built and the beta is still being developed. We already have 100 pre-registered users eager to download the app as soon as it is available.
DC: If you could give advice to any aspiring entrepreneurs, what would it be?
Shaw: Market opportunity is the single most important thing that determines whether or not your startup will be successful. The idea itself does not matter as much. Athenus has pivoted several times throughout our company’s short history. The idea you have now, most likely won’t be the idea you go to market with. Identifying gaps in the market, a need that is currently not being serviced effectively, and if you can fill that gap, will take you extremely far.