TradeFlow

What do they actually do

TradeFlow builds software that automates parts of post‑trade settlement for operations teams at brokers, banks, and asset managers. It ingests messy inputs (emails, PDFs, Excel files, prime broker statements), extracts key trade fields (counterparty, identifiers, quantities, economics) into a central view, and prepares routine actions like booking trades and drafting outbound emails. Items that don’t cleanly match are routed as exceptions for human review and approval, rather than attempting full replacement of ops staff TradeFlow homepage YC launch YC company page.

Today the company is early‑stage (YC S24) and running demos/pilots with a product‑led sales motion. The product emphasizes fitting into existing infrastructure and counterparties’ current formats to avoid forced migrations, with a near‑term focus on building connectors, improving exception workflows, and hardening security/audit controls for financial institutions YC company page TradeFlow homepage TradeFlow news.

Who are their target customer(s)

• Middle‑office operations analyst at a broker‑dealer: Spends hours opening emails/PDFs, copying trade details into internal systems, and chasing mismatches, leading to delays and errors. Needs reliable extraction of trade data and automated routing of exceptions to cut manual entry TradeFlow homepage YC company page.
• Reconciliation specialist at a prime broker or clearing house: Must reconcile counterparty statements across formats and handle a high volume of routine breaks. Needs automated extraction/matching so clean items are processed automatically and only true exceptions surface TradeFlow homepage YC launch.
• Settlement/custody operations team at a custodian bank or large asset manager: Struggling to meet faster settlement timelines and maintain auditability with fragile manual processes. Needs higher straight‑through processing and clear tracking of resolution progress, especially under T+1 pressure YC company page TradeFlow homepage.
• Operations manager responsible for exceptions and staffing: Exception spikes drive overtime/hiring and make performance hard to measure. Needs to shrink human‑handled volume by automating routine bookings and standard outbound actions so staff focus on true exceptions YC launch TradeFlow homepage.
• IT/integration lead at a financial firm: Faces long, costly onboarding if solutions require counterparty format changes or system replacement. Needs a tool that fits current infrastructure and ingests whatever formats counterparties already send TradeFlow homepage.

How would they acquire their first 10, 50, and 100 customers

• First 10: Founder‑led, bespoke pilots with large broker‑dealers, prime brokers, and asset managers, mapping 1–2 live workflows and building one‑off connectors tied to simple success metrics (e.g., fewer manual bookings/exceptions) TradeFlow homepage YC launch.
• First 50: Productize repeatable pilots into connectors/playbooks and use early references to sell similar mid‑market firms; add a small sales/CS team, targeted outbound to middle‑office leads, and lightweight compliance materials to speed procurement TradeFlow homepage YC company page.
• First 100: Expand via partners (custody/clearing vendors, SIs, consultancies) and tiered offerings (standard connectors + paid custom integrations); formalize SLAs/security certifications to unlock larger enterprises and banks under T+1 pressure TradeFlow homepage YC company page.

What is the rough total addressable market

Top-down context:

The broad post‑trade processing solutions market is estimated at about $10.7B in 2024, with growth into the high‑teens of billions over the next decade. The narrower trade‑settlement/automation slice is in the low single‑digit billions today Verified Market Research HTF MI DataIntelo.

Bottom-up calculation:

Using DTCC’s ~6,200 institutional clients as a proxy for the global buyer pool, a conservative near‑term scenario of 10% adoption at ~$150k ACV implies a ~$93M serviceable obtainable market; higher penetration and enterprise ACVs would scale this further DTCC.

Assumptions:

• DTCC’s ~6,200 institutional clients approximate the relevant global buyer count DTCC.
• Near‑term practical penetration of 10% among targetable institutions.
• Average contract value for TradeFlow‑like tooling of ~$150k per year, varying by firm size.

Who are some of their notable competitors

• Broadridge: Incumbent provider of trade matching, allocation, and middle/back‑office services used by major brokers and custodians; overlaps on matching, confirmations, and exception handling, typically via enterprise‑scale deployments link.
• SmartStream: Reconciliation and post‑trade operations software that centralizes breaks, automates rule‑based matching, and provides exception workflows; similar goals on reconciliation but delivered as large reconciliation suites link.
• Xceptor: Data‑automation and intelligent document processing platform that extracts data from documents and automates confirmations/reconciliations across banking processes; functionally close on ingestion and structured record creation link.
• DTCC (CTM / TradeSuite ID): Industry utility for central trade matching/affirmation used by custodians, broker‑dealers and asset managers; not a startup competitor, but the default path to straight‑through affirmation that TradeFlow must integrate with or complement link.
• VAKT: Network/utility (originating in commodities) that digitizes and legally records post‑trade steps via a shared ledger; alternative approach that requires counterparty/network adoption, versus ingesting existing counterparty formats link.