While other online brokers went after stock trades, OptionsXpress focused on building the best interface for individual investors trading equity options. The company has driven the emerging industry to now serve than 200,000 customers and 3% share of the 5 million options contracts traded daily. It has since launched subsidiary brokersXpress to extend its services to brokers and institutional investors. Barron's has recognized OptionsXpress as the leading online brokerage firm in its annual survey for 2003, 2004,2005, and 2006.
The team founded in company in 2000 and took an early round of $2.3MM from Gabelli Securities, G-Bar, and Lee Tenzer. Summit Partners put $90MM in '04 and the company went public in early 2005. Kalt previously founded Third Party Solutions for the travel industry. Gray is G-Bar’s president. Bennett was COO at Pacific Brokerage Services.
Dimensions: 160 people x 6 years x $180MM
Funding: Gabelli Securities, G-Bar, Lee Tenzer, Summit Partners
Customers: Individual options traders, brokers and institutional investors
Location: Chicago [Downtown] + www.optionsexpress.com
