The stock market has been an uneven playing field for a long time. Large institutions were able to execute trades on high-speed systems, utilizing expensive data feeds and research teams that operated day and night to seek the most significant edge. On the other hand, retail traders, everyday people trading from their laptops, had to rely on slow data feeds and limited tools (with little to no support). The outcome went precisely as you’d expect, with the advantage almost always leaning toward Wall Street.
Zak Westphal witnessed this imbalance firsthand in his earlier experiences trading penny stocks. Before long, he quickly learned how overwhelmingly unequal the playing field was between professionals and individuals. Instead of walking away in frustration, he decided to use it to fuel his ambition to make a fundamental change in the space.
That decision laid the groundwork for StocksToTrade, a platform designed to bridge the gap and provide retail traders with access to technology that was once out of reach.
Takeaways from the Early Years
Westphal first began his trading journey in the world of penny stocks, a famously high-risk and volatile corner of the stock market. What struck him was not only the price volatility, but that most retail traders were extremely ill-equipped to trade them. Data was delayed, and good scanners were virtually impossible to find; educational resources were either too thin or too costly.
The big firms never suffered from the same problems, as they usually had access to lightning-fast data feeds, professional analysts, and proprietary research. Watching this disparity unfold, Westphal was convinced that a large part of his retail losses wasn’t a matter of effort or smarts, but not having access to those same tools. Essentially, he was bringing a knife into a gunfight.
That realization became the foundation for Westphal’s entrepreneurial career. If better systems existed, they shouldn’t be locked away on Wall Street.
Building a Platform for Retail Traders
Since its inception, StocksToTrade has had a straightforward goal: to provide professional-grade tools to individual traders. To bring this vision to life, Westphal and his team developed a platform that integrated fast data, scanning technology, and an intuitive interface all in one place.
Features such as the Oracle Scanner, IRIS Analytics, and real-time news tracking enable traders to analyze information in seconds, not hours. Instead of collecting information from multiple sources, users can view the whole picture all in one place before making a decision. For anyone who has day traded before, particularly those who do scalping, you will already know how much each second counts (and how valuable it is to have access to rich data in real-time).
Today, the platform is used by more than 30,000 traders, proof that accessibility and sophistication can go hand in hand.
Education and Transparency
For Zak Westphal, technology alone is not enough. A powerful scanner may be able to show a stock moving in response to breaking news, but without some sort of context, the trader may have no idea why it matters, what the risks are, etc. This gap between signal and understanding is where many retail traders get into trouble.
StocksToTrade was developed to fill that gap. In addition to its technology, the platform invests heavily in education through video lessons/tutorials, live webinars, and community discussions. The goal is not only to show the trader what is occurring, but also to teach them the why.
Westphal has also often noted that financial markets are complex and that no algorithm can eliminate the need for a trader’s judgment. With increased understanding of the logic behind patterns, alerts, and sentiment, StocksToTrade empowers you to think critically instead of simply following alerts.
This focus on education is central to Westphal’s philosophy, which holds that transparency breeds trust. Traders stuck in the fog of information are more susceptible to burnout or walk away altogether if they cannot see the rationale behind their decisions or interpret the data themselves. Technology provides speed, but education provides staying power.
Mistakes as Tuition
Like many traders, Zak Westphal made his fair share of costly mistakes, especially in the early stages. Rather than categorizing those as failures, he labels them as expensive lessons, more akin to the inescapable cost of learning how markets work (or don’t) in real life.
That thinking informs the way StocksToTrade works today. Features are built to promote caution, risk management, and discipline. The takeaway is that risk is inevitable, but it can be managed if traders approach it skillfully using the appropriate tools and mindset.
Looking Ahead
The fintech sector has entered a new phase. Markets are faster, data is richer, and regulation is beginning to align with technology in a way that will shape the decade ahead. For Westphal, these changes are not just abstract, they’re opportunities to redefine what retail traders can expect from their platforms.
One area he highlights is accessibility. As younger generations turn to markets earlier in their financial lives, platforms need to be intuitive, mobile-first, and global. Tools that were previously only available on desktops are now being integrated into applications designed for daily use, and Westphal sees the next round of innovation as making capabilities like advanced analysis as easy as browsing your news feed on your phone.
AI will continue to be part of the picture, but he sees it as a collaborator, not a replacement. AI is excellent at processing vast amounts of information quickly, but traders need to understand the context behind the results. The challenge and opportunity is to create systems that present insights clearly without overwhelming and misleading users.
For Zak Westphal, the future of fintech isn’t about algorithms taking over. It’s about creating an environment where everyday traders feel equipped, supported, and part of the conversation. It’s the same mission that guided him from the start: making markets more fair, more transparent, and more open to anyone willing to learn.
