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Justin Byers Turns Passion for ‘Trading’ into a Career Tracking Behemoth Private Companies at Prime Unicorn Index

Justin Byers

Justin Byers is the Chief Data Officer of Prime Unicorn Index, an industry leader when it comes to analyzing the market for Unicorns.

Although the data that we use is public, it is data that few either know about and/or utilize. We use this data to determine which of the companies may be included into future periods of the index.”
— Justin Byers
AUSTIN, TX, UNITED STATES, June 19, 2019 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Like a lot of college graduates, when Justin Byers graduated from Louisiana Tech University with a B.S. in Finance in 1999, he took an entry level job with a large financial services company. Byers got licensed then proceeded to build a book by dialing for dollars. The experience told him all he needed to know.

“I realized that this was something that I did not want to pursue as a long-term career,” said Byers. “I was more passionate in the trading side of things.”

That interest and a gifted eye for what is the true value of a company has taken him to the top of the field when it comes to determining the proper valuation for Unicorns, or private companies valued at $1 billion or more. Today, Byers is the Chief Data Officer of Prime Unicorn Index, an industry leader when it comes to analyzing the market for Unicorns. To learn more about Byers, we sat down with him for a candid interview.

Question: What was your first big break in financial services?

Answer: Getting hired at then CyBerCorp (CyBerTrader then Charles Schwab) provided a push into the big pool of trading, operations, and technology. I started out as a licensed client services representative where the focus was on supporting trading and technology. Soon I moved over to the trade operation side of things, and that was a good fit. I was given a lot of responsibility with the margin department. I had close interaction with risk, margin, trade reconciliation, and brokerage technology that provided the connections from the exchanges to the clients. The time I spent in client services was very beneficial. It gave time to learn not only the software and operations of the trading, but I knew what clients were expecting and where they may need more education in how stock loan works.

Q: How did the experience at Schwab prepare you for Prime Unicorn Index?

A: During my time at Schwab, I was able to gain very valuable experience and knowledge on how the markets work, how derivatives play a major role in supporting the trading of equities, and also how the movement in pricing of these securities influenced where and how people/traders may move. Learning this allowed me to help guide how the Prime Unicorn Index may be structured and how we might be able to price the components of the index.

Q: What is the best part about being Chief Data Officer at the Index?

A: I get to see a plethora of data points that are “behind the scenes” of the general data that is published in the public domain for these private companies. Although the data that we use is public, it is data that few either know about and/or utilize. We use this data to determine which of the companies may be included into future periods of the index.

Q: What makes the Index better than others at getting accurate data about unicorn valuations?

A: The data that we use is based on corporate filings, filed by the companies, at both the state and Federal level. Unlike using media posts or hearsay data, we have the filings for the companies that we can point to that supports the marks that are applied to the companies for funding rounds and valuation calculations.

Q: What is the most misunderstood aspect about unicorn valuations?

A: In general, a big misunderstood aspect about the unicorn valuations is how much of these valuations are actually based on fundamentals of the company and how much is based on the investors, sector, and availability of market space. Some of the companies have seen huge valuations as compared to their revenue, but just because a certain investor or firm helped fund the company or even just because the company’s approach to a space is “cool and trendy”, a premium valuation is placed on the company. As these companies enter the public market, some of these have seen price/valuation corrections based on the public trading and investing.

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