INNOVATORS VS COVID 19

Atomiq Consulting: Corporate Services for FX Brokers

Published

3 years ago

04/03/2021

Kossi Adzo

Jonathan Baumgart, founder, and CEO at Atomiq Consulting tells us about forex brokerage services.

First of all, how are you and your family doing in these COVID-19 times?

Jonathan Baumgart: Thankfully, nobody in my immediate family came down with the virus, although friends and other business associates have.

Tell us about you, your career, and how you founded Atomiq Consulting.

Jonathan Baumgart: My background is in online foreign exchange & CFD trading, basically trading online which has grown in popularity during the pandemic. In 2014, I started my own consulting firm: Atomiq Consulting. The goal of Atomiq Consulting is to provide established brokers as well as new market participants with the necessary knowledge to be successful in this business. We offer nearly everything from IT consultation all the way to legal guidance and marketing assistance.

How does Atomiq Consulting innovate?

Jonathan Baumgart: We are one of few companies in the online forex trading industry that speak to all market participants. We have discussions with retail traders all the way to CEOs of multi-national brokerages, allowing us to see the market from a vantage point that few have. We then take this knowledge, digest it, and share our opinions about it with our clients. I think the term “thought leadership” has been ruined by marketers, but that’s how I’d describe it.

How the coronavirus pandemic affects your business and how are you coping?

Jonathan Baumgart: Because most of the world was forced to remain at home with an Internet connection, our business actually saw an expansion during the pandemic. Since all recreational activity was effectively prohibited, many people discovered trading either as a new hobby or a part-time form of income. I am candid that I’d trade our success in a heartbeat if the pandemic never happened since the consequences are even yet to be manifested, and unfortunately countless businesses were wrecked by the pandemic and lives ruined. I’d encourage anyone in my industry to consider helping out those in their community if the pandemic treated them well since help is needed now more than ever.

Did you have to make difficult choices and what are the lessons learned?

Jonathan Baumgart: Any functioning CEO has to make difficult choices. The biggest lesson for me is that even hard choices can lead to a positive outcome. Deciding to terminate a contract or fire someone can have benefits one doesn’t see. If someone is let go, it means they probably weren’t a good fit and will most likely find a better position somewhere else. Business relationships, just like interpersonal relationships, often don’t work out as well and their termination can often benefit both parties.

How do you deal with stress and anxiety, and how do you project yourself and your company in the future?

Jonathan Baumgart: I eat hot dogs, pizza, and potato chips to cope with stress but this has caused me to gain weight so now I am trying to lose it. Unfortunately, running a business requires a constant hum of stress. I’m simply glad that my vices are limited to fast food. Sales are the fuel any business runs on so I keep that the focus since plans to expand cannot happen without it.

Who are your competitors? And how do you plan to stay in the game?

Jonathan Baumgart: Our sector is a small one and competition is rarely cutthroat. The only firms I truly view as competitors have broken their trust with me at some stage or with my clients. Our business is unique in the sense that there are often areas in which I can help a firm doing very similar business to ours. With that said, there is one exception, which are law firms that attempt to extract information about our licensing services and do it themselves more cheaply. I tend not to view these firms as competitors, they are more like copycats because their lack of experience backfires with their clients so they end up walking away from our field. Knowledge is the one thing separating us from the rest, so we try to stay on top of it.