Should I Build It Should I Build It
02 Jul 2025
Fintech

equity/credit research RAG for professionals and b2c open bla bla bla

Confidence
Engagement
Net use signal
Net buy signal

Idea type: Freemium

People love using similar products but resist paying. You’ll need to either find who will pay or create additional value that’s worth paying for.

Should You Build It?

Build but think about differentiation and monetization.

Your are here

You're entering a competitive space with your equity/credit research RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) idea, as evidenced by the 10 similar products we found. This indicates that there's a recognized need for tools that aid in financial research. The 'Freemium' category fits well because people generally like using such tools, but often hesitate to pay for them upfront. Based on the positive comments seen in similar product launches, users are very interested in collaborative financial research and streamlining investment processes. This indicates a strong interest in your idea, but you need to carefully consider how you will differentiate yourself and how you will monetize your product from the start, or you will end up in a crowded space with little potential for revenue, with users who are unwilling to pay for your solution. Think about how you can provide significantly greater value than your competitors in the free version, to build trust and make users more willing to convert to premium features.

Recommendations

  1. First, focus on identifying the users who derive the most value from the free version of your RAG tool. Understand their specific workflows, pain points, and research needs. This will provide key insights for designing premium features that directly address these needs and offer significant added value. Consider offering a free trial that allows users to experience the full power of the platform to encourage the conversion to a paid subscription.
  2. Next, design premium features that genuinely enhance the research process for those high-value users. These could include advanced data visualization, AI-powered summarization, customized alerts, or dedicated support. Clearly demonstrate how these features save time, improve accuracy, or provide unique insights that justify the upgrade.
  3. Given the professional context, explore offering team-based pricing plans instead of individual subscriptions. Financial institutions, research firms, and investment teams are more likely to pay for tools that facilitate collaboration and knowledge sharing. Tailor features and pricing to accommodate team sizes and usage patterns.
  4. Differentiate yourself by specializing in a niche area of equity/credit research. Focus on a specific industry, asset class, or research methodology to attract a dedicated user base. By becoming a go-to resource for a particular niche, you can build a strong brand and command premium pricing. This also helps focus your content generation and early sales efforts.
  5. Offer personalized help or consulting services to premium users who require additional support. This could include training on using the RAG tool, assistance with data analysis, or guidance on research strategies. This high-touch approach can increase user satisfaction, reduce churn, and generate additional revenue.
  6. Continuously test different pricing strategies and feature bundles with small user groups. Experiment with various price points, subscription tiers, and add-on features to optimize your monetization model. Gather user feedback and iterate on your offerings based on their preferences and willingness to pay. Ensure you clearly communicate the value proposition of each plan.
  7. Based on the discussions around similar products, ensure your data sources are transparent and reliable. Address concerns about data consistency and potential manipulation by partnering with reputable data providers and implementing robust quality control measures. Highlight the accuracy and timeliness of your data to build user trust.
  8. Also based on competitor criticism, be prepared to defend your product from claims that it does not provide any value above and beyond existing solutions. In your marketing material be sure to state clearly how your product saves users time, or is more accurate/comprehensive, or whatever your true differentiation may be. It is not enough to simply say "we are better". You need to be specific.

Questions

  1. Given the high number of similar products, what unique data sources or analytical methods will your RAG tool leverage to provide a distinct competitive advantage in equity/credit research?
  2. Considering the comments on similar product launches, how will you address potential user concerns about data consistency, reliability, and the emphasis on qualitative versus quantitative data in your research platform?
  3. How will you ensure that your freemium offering doesn't cannibalize potential paying customers, and what specific conversion strategies will you employ to encourage free users to upgrade to premium features?

Your are here

You're entering a competitive space with your equity/credit research RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) idea, as evidenced by the 10 similar products we found. This indicates that there's a recognized need for tools that aid in financial research. The 'Freemium' category fits well because people generally like using such tools, but often hesitate to pay for them upfront. Based on the positive comments seen in similar product launches, users are very interested in collaborative financial research and streamlining investment processes. This indicates a strong interest in your idea, but you need to carefully consider how you will differentiate yourself and how you will monetize your product from the start, or you will end up in a crowded space with little potential for revenue, with users who are unwilling to pay for your solution. Think about how you can provide significantly greater value than your competitors in the free version, to build trust and make users more willing to convert to premium features.

Recommendations

  1. First, focus on identifying the users who derive the most value from the free version of your RAG tool. Understand their specific workflows, pain points, and research needs. This will provide key insights for designing premium features that directly address these needs and offer significant added value. Consider offering a free trial that allows users to experience the full power of the platform to encourage the conversion to a paid subscription.
  2. Next, design premium features that genuinely enhance the research process for those high-value users. These could include advanced data visualization, AI-powered summarization, customized alerts, or dedicated support. Clearly demonstrate how these features save time, improve accuracy, or provide unique insights that justify the upgrade.
  3. Given the professional context, explore offering team-based pricing plans instead of individual subscriptions. Financial institutions, research firms, and investment teams are more likely to pay for tools that facilitate collaboration and knowledge sharing. Tailor features and pricing to accommodate team sizes and usage patterns.
  4. Differentiate yourself by specializing in a niche area of equity/credit research. Focus on a specific industry, asset class, or research methodology to attract a dedicated user base. By becoming a go-to resource for a particular niche, you can build a strong brand and command premium pricing. This also helps focus your content generation and early sales efforts.
  5. Offer personalized help or consulting services to premium users who require additional support. This could include training on using the RAG tool, assistance with data analysis, or guidance on research strategies. This high-touch approach can increase user satisfaction, reduce churn, and generate additional revenue.
  6. Continuously test different pricing strategies and feature bundles with small user groups. Experiment with various price points, subscription tiers, and add-on features to optimize your monetization model. Gather user feedback and iterate on your offerings based on their preferences and willingness to pay. Ensure you clearly communicate the value proposition of each plan.
  7. Based on the discussions around similar products, ensure your data sources are transparent and reliable. Address concerns about data consistency and potential manipulation by partnering with reputable data providers and implementing robust quality control measures. Highlight the accuracy and timeliness of your data to build user trust.
  8. Also based on competitor criticism, be prepared to defend your product from claims that it does not provide any value above and beyond existing solutions. In your marketing material be sure to state clearly how your product saves users time, or is more accurate/comprehensive, or whatever your true differentiation may be. It is not enough to simply say "we are better". You need to be specific.

Questions

  1. Given the high number of similar products, what unique data sources or analytical methods will your RAG tool leverage to provide a distinct competitive advantage in equity/credit research?
  2. Considering the comments on similar product launches, how will you address potential user concerns about data consistency, reliability, and the emphasis on qualitative versus quantitative data in your research platform?
  3. How will you ensure that your freemium offering doesn't cannibalize potential paying customers, and what specific conversion strategies will you employ to encourage free users to upgrade to premium features?

  • Confidence: High
    • Number of similar products: 10
  • Engagement: High
    • Average number of comments: 15
  • Net use signal: 4.1%
    • Positive use signal: 12.5%
    • Negative use signal: 8.4%
  • Net buy signal: -4.2%
    • Positive buy signal: 1.1%
    • Negative buy signal: 5.3%

This chart summarizes all the similar products we found for your idea in a single plot.

The x-axis represents the overall feedback each product received. This is calculated from the net use and buy signals that were expressed in the comments. The maximum is +1, which means all comments (across all similar products) were positive, expressed a willingness to use & buy said product. The minimum is -1 and it means the exact opposite.

The y-axis captures the strength of the signal, i.e. how many people commented and how does this rank against other products in this category. The maximum is +1, which means these products were the most liked, upvoted and talked about launches recently. The minimum is 0, meaning zero engagement or feedback was received.

The sizes of the product dots are determined by the relevance to your idea, where 10 is the maximum.

Your idea is the big blueish dot, which should lie somewhere in the polygon defined by these products. It can be off-center because we use custom weighting to summarize these metrics.

Similar products

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OpenBB Terminal – Investment research for everyone

05 Mar 2023 Investing Finance

Comments on the Show HN product/service reveal mixed opinions. Users criticize the clickbait title and suspicious comment thread, while others question Bloomberg's data provision and the necessity of real-time data. Some praise Bloomberg's comprehensive financial tools and chat feature, yet note alternatives like Symphony and WhatsApp. Concerns about spam tactics and unsolicited marketing emails are prevalent, with some defending the founder's apologies. The product is compared unfavorably to Bloomberg Terminal in terms of functionality, but OpenBB's open-source approach to data integration is highlighted. Users are also interested in data sources, API keys, and the availability of Linux binaries.

Users criticized the Show HN product for its clickbait title, suspicious comment thread, and spam tactics including unethical email scraping. The product's real-time data was deemed overrated and not included in the subscription, with unclear data provision. Users found it difficult to displace Bloomberg's IB and noted the high membership fee, limited options, and slow industry adoption. The main value was seen in the chat feature, but there were concerns about cybersecurity and compliance. The marketing was criticized for being misleading and overused, and the product's capabilities were unclear on the webpage.

https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=1980phipsi

The main thing I use the Bloomberg terminal is economic data. While other services may have more data or better charting, Bloomberg’s offering is updated very quickly, which is useful for trading. You can get both the headline number and then potentially a minute or two later a statistical summary to capture the most important info. I could easily convince my company to pay 20 dollars a month for someone to do this one part of Bloomberg as good as they do it.The problem with using BBG for this is that I have a shared team Bloomberg and Bloomberg clamped down on using those remotely. If I could use it remotely, then I would just do that.

https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=xmcqdpt2

I work at a financial institution and it's symphony for internal communications. I much prefer it to teams tbh.

https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=1980phipsi

Sorry for the delayed reply. I use ECO/ECFC in Bloomberg, along with various charts of economic data. I also use Factset, which has a lot of the same functionality. The difference is that when the report comes out, it is on Bloomberg essentially immediately, but that's not the case for Factset. If I have a call five minutes after the report comes out, I can use Bloomberg to get a quick snapshot of the data. If I go directly to the BLS website, I have to go through 4-5 tables to get the information I need. Bloomberg puts together statistical summaries of the most important info. Bloomberg also has consensus forecasts (so does Factset), which the sites that publish the info don't have.

https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=rdclds

this is the most amazing piece of software I've seen in a while

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Hey,A toolbox for retail investors. Free forever, 25+ years of financial data on global securities (currently 12k). No need to pay for data access, as others define with.Our toolbox contains fundamental dashboards, portfolios, watchlists, simultanous equity research, corporate focus, macro insights, news articles, earnings, sentiments and many more components. Merged into an all-in-one dashboard.Next year we will bring portfolios, watchlists and up-to-date financial data together into a generative AI, that is exclusively trained on, financial/investing & expert knowledge. What do you think about it?

Looks neat, asks about integration and differentiation.

Questions differentiation from current solutions.

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Transforming the way finance professionals conduct qualitative public market research.

Quartr's Product Hunt launch garnered widespread congratulations and praise for its innovative approach to financial research, particularly its focus on qualitative data and centralization of investor relations (IR) materials. Users lauded its potential to streamline research processes and provide valuable insights. However, some expressed skepticism regarding its differentiation in a crowded market, data consistency, the emphasis on qualitative data over quantitative, and its ability to compete with established platforms like Bloomberg Terminal. Questions arose about data visualization, AI summaries, customization, and potential market monopoly. Some users are excited to trial the tool.

Users criticized the short 7-day trial and the focus on qualitative data, questioning its reliability and potential for manipulation. Many felt the app was unnecessary due to market saturation and redundancy with existing tools. Concerns were raised about the time-consuming narrative approach, lack of customization, data quality, and a potential monopoly risk. Some users doubt the demand for such a niche product, while others highlighted the risk of neglecting quantitative data and overall data accuracy, alongside a cluttered user experience and overwhelming notifications.

brandon_beylo

Keep up the great work, team! Quartr is still so early in what they can capture and provide to investors and financial institutions. The Quartr App is a MUST-HAVE for any buy-side or sell-side investor/analyst. I can't imagine doing Earnings Calls without it, now.

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Quartr sounds like a super handy platform. Just took a quick look, and it’s impressive how you’ve centralized all that IR material in one place. Congrats on the launch, can’t wait to see where you take this！

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awesomeyang

Quartr revolutionizes financial research with its focus on qualitative insights from over 10,000 public companies. The combination of a desktop platform and a mobile app ensures you get the data you need in a user-friendly way. Plus, the API opens up new possibilities for custom solutions. Excited to see where this goes!

alexanderscottwilliams

Big congrats on the launch, Oscar! 🎉 Quartr sounds like a game changer for finance professionals, especially with its focus on qualitative insights. It’s great to see how you've centralized IR material, making it accessible and streamlined – a much-needed solution in the industry. The distinction from traditional platforms by focusing on narratives is impressive and timely. I'm particularly excited about the Pro version and the generative AI capabilities you've built in. Looking forward to seeing how this evolves and the impact it will have on research practices! Upvote from me!

patriciaharris

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