Hardeep Walia co-founded Motif Investing in 2010 to give individual investors a way to invest in real-world ideas. Motif—a registered broker-dealer based in San Mateo, Calif.—is an innovative startup allowing people to invest online in collections of stocks or bonds centered around specific investment themes, all for a low fee. Mr. Walia started Motif after serving as CEO of a medical-device startup that he led to a successful acquisition. Prior to that, he spent over six years in executive positions at Microsoft, including serving as general manager of Microsoft’s $2 billion Enterprise Services business. He was also director of corporate development and strategy, helping to oversee Microsoft’s investments and acquisitions. Mr. Walia began his career as a consultant with the Boston Consulting Group. He holds a BS in economics and engineering from Yale University and an MBA from the Wharton School of Business; he also holds Series 7, 63 and 24 licenses in the securities industry.
