[jonpaul]

1) What are some of things you did to validate this idea in accordance with the Lean Startup Methodology?

2) Do you think any approval of this by the regulators was an attempt to stay competitive to the rise of crypto crowdfunding / instant liquidity via crypto markets (ICOs, STOs, IEOs, etc)?

[eries]

1. We use it in a lot of ways big and small.

I’d say two notable examples are building our tools platform (http://LTSE.com/tools) for early stage companies which has allowed us to do exchange-like things long before being operational as a national securities exchange and our earlier attempt to build the exchange with a legacy partner. That partnership ultimately failed but in the process we learned a lot of essential lessons that set us up for success. Classic MVP.

2. Not really. They are obviously aware of those things and I have found them knowledgeable and conscientious in wanting to protect and serve the public. But the process to create a stock exchange is defined by law and they followed that to reach their decision. If you read their almost 50 page approval order, you’ll see how detailed their analysis is.