Recently we had an opportunity to speak with Justin Zacks, VP of Strategy, Moomoo Technologies Inc. about Moomoo

Please share with us the backstory of what motivated you to create this app.

Moomoo is an investment and trading platform that was developed to empower global investors with pro-grade, easy to use tools, data, and insights. The platform was founded in 2018 in Palo Alto, California. It provides users with the necessary technology and resources to make more informed investment decisions. Moomoo’s mission is to grow with its users, cultivating a community of investors who share, learn, and grow together in one place. Moomoo provides free access to investment courses, educational materials, and interactive events that any investor, at any level, can gain from. Moomoo is not just an investment platform - it's an investment journey.

How is your app different than the rest of the market? Which unique need does it fill?

In addition to Moomoo’s tech capabilities, Moomoo believes that education is the bedrock of every successful investment journey. Unlike many other trading platforms, a series of online courses has been introduced on Moomoo's learning portal — Moo Learn — to educate users on drawing techniques for the charting tools.

Investors are also encouraged to join Moomoo's interactive online community, where experienced investors actively share their insights on technical investing under various discussion topics. This helps to build and engage a community on the app with investors learning from one another and highlighting dos and don'ts.

What is the coolest or most innovative feature of your app?

Moomoo provides investors with a novel charting feature available at their fingertips with 38 drawing tools and more than 60 investing indicators available. These charting tools include a patented feature that allows users to draw lines and shapes on charts from their mobile devices, facilitating price movement analysis, pattern recognition, and identification of potential market opportunities from the convenience of their mobile devices — anytime and anywhere.

Moomoo has long advocated and implemented technology innovations related to stock market trading opportunities. With real-time data that refreshes as fast as every 0.03 seconds, users can draw a variety of charts that can help them discover potential trading opportunities or customize technical indicators to help optimize their investment decisions.

What has been the most rewarding aspect of the creation of this app?

To build an online trading platform that is transparent, trustworthy, reliable, technologically advanced and recognized as such. Investors can use Moomoo at all stages of their investment journey and can advance to different investor segments while on the platform. We strive to be able to help facilitate and support investors reaching their goals, while also enhancing their knowledge through educational resources.

What surprised you most in your journey to create this app?

Creating a successful online trading platform is a complex endeavor that involves financial, technological, and regulatory challenges. Being able to stay informed, adaptable, and responsive to the surprises that can arise is essential in this industry. The most surprising factor in the journey was user preference as we grew into a global company. For example, in Asia markets, such as Singapore, customers use our app more often on their mobile phones and really like the convenience of trading everywhere at every time at their fingertips. In the US market, users have lots of demands on our desktop version and prefer to navigate our features and functions in front of their laptops. In this case, we are putting more effort on syncing the two outlets and making sure to provide the best experience for users.

How did you decide which platforms to release your app on and do you plan on releasing your app to other platforms?

Deciding which platforms to release an app on depends on various factors including identifying target audiences. When building a consumer-focused app, it’s important to consider whether users are more likely to use iOS (Apple) or Android (Google). Demographics, location, and user behavior can influence this decision. Other factors may include budget, app complexity, user feedback on other apps, and app store policies. In some cases, it may make sense to start with one platform initially and expand to the others later. Ultimately, the decision should align with the app's goals, its audience, and the resources available.

Currently, Moomoo is available on iOS (Apple) or Android (Google) for mobile phones. The App has Mac/Windows desktop versions and website online access for users. We also provide OpenAPI for specialized quantitative trading traders.

Which other mobile apps or technology have inspired you?

Bloomberg, as the most affluent financial news, information, and technology platform inspired moomoo’s setup and our path forward.

What features do you hope to roll out to your app in the future?

We launched multi-leg Desktop Options in both desktop and mobile app, quantitative trading for retail investors without any coding background. We will have more product offerings and features to roll out in the first quarter of 2024. Stay tuned!

Do you have any recommendations or advice for others wanting to create a mobile app?

There are many things to keep in mind when creating an app but one of the biggest parts to keep in mind is to remember that the mobile app market is highly competitive, so innovation and continuous improvement are key to an app's success. It's also important to stay updated with the latest trends and technologies in the mobile app development industry.

Below are four recommendations:

1. Define Your Purpose: Clearly define the purpose and goals of your app. Understand what problem it solves or what value it provides to users. A well-defined purpose is essential for a successful app.

2. User-Centered Design: Design your app with the user in mind. Create a user-friendly and intuitive interface. Conduct user testing to gather feedback and make improvements.

3. Choose the Right Development Tools: Select the appropriate development tools and technologies based on your app's requirements. For example, you can use languages like Swift or Kotlin for native development or cross-platform tools like React Native or Flutter.

4. Security: Prioritize security measures to protect user data and ensure the app's safety.