30 Most Influential Companies of the Year 2020
CIO Bulletin
Machines are more efficient than humans. They can work 24/7; they don’t sleep, don’t need breaks, and don’t get bored. Every day we rely on them to notify us about important events in real-time(even in the middle of the night) or to chat with customers and solve their problems at any time of the day. Artificial intelligence can analyze vast amounts of data in a blink of an eye – a task that would take hours of arduous human labor and in many cases would even be impossible to accomplish. AI offer the opportunity economize one of our most precious commodities – time. A.I. easy automates repetitive tasks and routine work.
Vantagepoint ai was founded in the year 1979 by Louis B. Mendelsohn, who is an eminent technical analyst and trading software pioneer. The company was the first trading software developer in the world to provide strategy back testing capabilities in trading software for personal computers.
Vantagepoint ai is the frontier of trading software research and software development. They hold two patents for their predictive forecasting application using artificial intelligence and another for their global intermarket analysis that reveals hidden influences and connections in the financial markets. Vantagepoint uses their own patented neural network processes which have learning for over 30 years.
Lane J. Mendelsohn, President dives into the details of the company
What makes VantagePoint’s market forecasts unique?
We like to say we were FinTech before it was “a thing.” In 1979, my father, Louis Mendelsohn, released the first version of his software. He was interested in artificial intelligence from his college days at Carnegie Mellon which had an A.I. lab back in the 60s. He was also trading for himself and hand drawing all of his charts using the daily newspaper. He realized back then that there had to be a better way.
When microcomputers hit the scene, he saw that it was the perfect intersection for independent traders – they could have the benefit of computing power and the insight from artificial intelligence. Although my dad began developing his software for his own use, word spread fast and soon the whole family was helping to meet the demand. Three years after the first release of our software, my dad released his patented Global Intermarket Analysis functionality and that was a real game changer. When the market crash of the 80s was killing everyone’s portfolios, my dad was able to see that it was confirmation that the markets truly had become globally interwoven and that they influenced price action in ways humans often couldn’t recognize.
How accurate is Artificial Intelligence Trading Software in predicting market trends?
We are third-party certified at up to 87.4% accuracy. Traders can have great confidence in our forecasts. Furthermore, we don’t add markets to our database if we cannot reliably forecasts for them at over 70% accuracy for at least a year. I know it sounds almost too good to be true when highly regarded market gurus and pundits average about 27% accuracy. The difference is that artificial intelligence takes the emotion out of trading. The machines don’t care about a company’s likability or who the CEO is or any of the other factors that can cloud our vision.
Our software now gives four points of confirmation for traders too; so, as a trader, you can make decisions based on unemotional information, data-driven forecasts and confirmation…and then use your own sensibilities about what you want to do. But your trading decisions and your timing can now be guided by data rather than headlines or gut feelings.
What are your core values as a company? How successful have you been in meeting your goals?
A few years ago, we sat down as a team and defined our core values. While we’ve always been focused on being inclusive and respectful, the process of establishing our core values and then infusing them into every action we take and every decision we make really cemented our workplace culture.
Our core values are passion, teamwork, positivity, purpose, innovation, communication, respect, and integrity. My team is an amazing group that all live and breathe our core values. And they know that as the President of the Company, I strive to live them, use them to hire people, and determine what businesses we will partner with – these core values are literally our touchstone throughout the day-to-day functioning of our business.
Our dedication to our culture and to our team has meant that our company has prospered even in the midst of uncertain times like those we’ve seen in the first and second quarters of 2020.
How does Vantagepoint give back to the community?
Vantagepoint as a company and as a family of traders is committed to doing well and doing good. We regularly donate a portion of our revenue to Shriners Hospitals for Children and The Children’s Cancer Center. Shriners has been an amazing partner for us. We believe in going beyond financial donations and we involve our local ambassadors and their families in our company events, special celebrations, and even just lunch at the office. When the pandemic hit, many companies pulled back on their philanthropic giving – we did just the opposite.
Last year we were able to add The Children’s Cancer Center to our giving too. This is a very special organization that helps children diagnosed with cancer and their entire family cope – they help with special days just for siblings, date nights for parents, play dates for children and even just navigating all the appointments needed for care. Unfortunately, many of our CCC kids are immuno-compromised because they are undergoing treatment, but we’re able to involve them in our events on good days for them. Cancer is such a stressful disease for the entire family, and we’re glad we can help alleviate some of that pressure by supporting The Children’s Cancer Center.
I see it over and over with our traders too. Many of our traders are doing amazing things along with us. We have traders who are sponsoring kids through college, others that help veterans or foster children through their own 501C-3s, and many of our traders have followed our lead and make their own contributions to Shriners as well.
Two Generations of Leadership
Louis Mendelsohn formed Vantagepoint ai in 1979 for the purpose of licensing the trading software that he developed for himself to other commodities traders. Mr. Mendelsohn was encouraged by his father to go to college and get an education, because his father was a high school dropout and the family was financially stressed. After graduating from high school in 1965; Mr. Mendelsohn attended Carnegie Mellon University where he received a B.S. degree in Administration and Management Science in 1969. Later he was awarded an M.S.W. degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1973, and an M.B.A. degree with Honors from Boston University in 1977. Since then, Mr. Mendelsohn has become a highly regarded figure in the FinTech world and has been named a Legend of Wall Street by NASDAQ.
Lane Mendelsohn has been involved in the financial industry since the mid-1980s, when he joined his father at Vantagepoint ai. Since then, Lane has helped shape the company’s rise to become a multi-million dollar, Inc. 500 company. He has been involved in every aspect of the company’s operations including sales, marketing, research and development, trader education, website development, recruiting, employee training, and general management. Under Lane’s leadership, the company has been recognized by Fortune Magazine as one the top small businesses to work for in the United States and Lane has been recognized as one of the top leaders in country.
Digital-marketing
Artificial-intelligence
Lifestyle-and-fashion
Food-and-beverage