WeSeed's Mission

Here's our goal: To empower real people to get a better understanding of the stock market through the things they already know and love — the clothes they wear, the cars they drive (or the bikes they ride), and the burgers they eat.

We think everyone can master the market, not just the guys in the $4,000 suits on Wall Street. So we created a fun, free, risk-free way for real people to get a clue about the market and make better financial decisions.

Start with What You Know

Starting something new can be pretty intimidating, and most financial sites are very good at scaring people away. That's why we encourage WeSeeders to start with what they know.

Do you like video games, movies, or fine dining? Begin in that mini-market and use what you know to wade into the world of stocks. Or just look up the companies you like and — what the heck — buy some shares.

That's the thing: There's no risk here. WeSeed has real stocks, real prices, and real companies. It's the money that isn't real, which means you don't have to worry about losing any of your own hard-earned cash, By creating a safe, risk-free area that has all the other real parts of the stock market, WeSeeders can explore and feel free to make mistakes.

Who We Are

WeSeed isn't just some random start-up in a Silicon Valley garage. We are the the brainchild of PEAK6 Investments, L.P., one of the most successful options trading firms in Chicago. We've been able to tap into the considerable talent, experience, and technology at PEAK6 to help grow WeSeed and enable a new generation of future investors to learn the basics so that they can empower themselves.

WeSeed uses the technology of another PEAK6 company, Options House (which was rated #1 by Barron's for user experience, but that's a different story), which lets WeSeed provide up-to-the-second stock prices for companies.

So the money is fake, but the stock prices are real. And so is the education you'll get at WeSeed.

The people behind WeSeed

WeSeed takes many people to make it work, but here are the fine folks who live and breathe the site:

Lindsey Emerson (WeSeed user name: Lemerson)
Lindsey is the Academic Ambassador of WeSeed, meaning she coordinates and supports our K-12, college, and university outreach. She graduated from Elon University in Elon, North Carolina. 

She prides herself on never once uttering the word "y'all" during her undergraduate career.

Prior to joining the PEAK 6 crew, she lived and worked in our nation's Capitol for three years as a senator. (Ok, perhaps not a senator.) However, she worked to support advancements of technology in education nationwide at both The Fratelli Group and HotChalk.com.

Lindsey is a Philadelphia native who has recently relocated to Seattle. (It does indeed rain there.) Besides the rain, she is greatly looking forward to exploring the city and its superb caffeine-related offerings. She thinks whale watching will be fun, too.

Three random facts about Lindsey
1)      She is amused that the word "booyah" is translated to mean "not for me" in Mandarin Chinese, thanks to the insight of a friend who is living in Singapore. She will no longer be cheering that when the Eagles score a touchdown. 

2)      Speaking of the Eagles, she is a huge Philly sports fan.

3)      She is an even bigger fan of Saturday Night Live, and she will not hear any arguments that its quality has diminished.

If she could have any superpower, it would be...
To transport herself at the snap of a finger to distant and beautiful lands . . . mostly to visit friends and family on the East Coast.

Favorite stock in her Portfolio
Staples - it's been a "staple" in her portfolio! Get it?! Wow . . .

Lisa Lindberg (WeSeed user name: cleogirl56)

Lisa is the Vice President of Product Management for WeSeed. This is a fancy way of saying she gets to work with all of the smart, bright people who really make WeSeed work.

Lisa is a Seattle native who stayed in the Emerald City to attend the University of Washington. (Well, she's not from Seattle exactly -- she grew up on Bainbridge Island, about 30 minutes outside of Seattle. But let's not quibble over details.)

She still happily lives in the Northwest, surrounded by her friends and family.

Before coming to PEAK6, she worked at RealNetworks on Rhapsody, their digital music service, and at Amazon.com.

Lisa was a stock market novice, but since joining WeSeed, she trades like a madwoman. You can find her on the site -- she goes by cleogirl56. She's always looking for a good stock tip!

Three random facts about Lisa

1)       She's a speed reader. She can power thru 4-5 books on a quiet Saturday, and her Kindle is always fully loaded.

2)       She's a big science fiction fan, from Bradbury to Harlan Ellison and everything in between.

3)       No matter what you tell her, she remains steadfast in thinking Blue Oyster Cult is the best band ever. And no more cowbell jokes, please.

If she could have any superpower, it would be...

To turn Diet Coke into the most nutritious food on the planet.

Favorite company in her Portfolio

Whole Foods. She may love her Diet Coke, but she also enjoys her healthy food, too.

Joel Reese (WeSeed user name: jreese83)

Joel is the managing editor of WeSeed. He went to Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, then to graduate school for journalism at the University of Montana.

Throughout all this time, he never learned the meaning of the term "P/E Ratio."

Before coming to PEAK6, Joel won several awards for his work as a journalist in Montana, California, and Chicago. Over his 15-year career as a writer/editor, Joel dodged flames in a California forest fire, worked as a mall Santa, jumped into a sub-freezing Lake Michigan, and auditioned for "The Weakest Link" game show. He interviewed people including Michael Jordan, Diane Lane, John Travolta, Mike Ditka, and Harrison Ford (and found him to be quite, ummm, disagreeable).

 Joel is a Chicago native who has been to hundreds of Cubs games in his life (and six White Sox games). He has never caught a foul ball or home run. He lives in Chicago with his wife and two-year-old daughter, Maggie.

Three random facts about Joel

1)      He is an unexpectedly good cook, something he was surprised to learn after he nailed this recipe. Pair it with a Mark West pinot noir. You'll thank him.

2)      He has had three organs surgically removed (in increasing level of importance): appendix, tonsils, and spleen. Don't ask why about the last one.

3)      He can knock a fly off a bird's beak from 20 yards with a Frisbee.

If he could have any superpower, it would be...

To quote the visionary Steve Miller, he wants to fly like an eagle.

Favorite stock in his Portfolio

Apple. He loves Apple products, and the stock has made him a lot of money. It's fake money, but still.

Caitlin Rosberg (WeSeed user name:crosberg)

Caitlin is the product manager and chief zombie specialist at WeSeed. She grew up in Chicago, then went to Miami University (the one in Ohio, not in Florida), then moved back to Chicago to attend grad school at the University of Chicago. 

She hated how bad traffic got after the Democratic primary in 2008 because she lived two blocks from Obama.

She still doesn't understand options trading as well as she'd like, though she's a whiz at futures.

Before coming to PEAK6, Caitlin (who is the baby of the staff) was in school. She didn't have any awesome careers before coming to the firm, but she did work in a post office, have several temporary receptionist jobs, and serve as a resident assistant at Miami University. This got her a whole bunch of awesome stories to tell, but very few of them are work-appropriate.

Caitlin grew up in the Chicago suburbs but often doesn't admit it, and lives right near Comiskey Park (no, it's not US Cellular and she doesn't care what you say). For the unfamiliar, this where the White Sox play baseball a lot better than the Cubs ever could.

Three random facts about Caitlin

1)       She cut off the tip of one finger when she was fifteen and can now use the still-crooked tip to predict really bad weather.

2)       She only has two wisdom teeth. Her anthropology background tells her this means she's more evolved than most people.

3)       She is a hard-core karaoke enthusiast.

If she could have any superpower, it would be...

She doesn't want a superpower -- they're for people like Superman, she says. Just give her Bruce Wayne's money and a few of his less serious emotional problems and get out of her way.

Favorite stock in her Portfolio

It's a toss up between Jo-Ann Fabrics and Netflix. Both are consistently good performers, and she doesn't know what she'd do without the companies themselves.