Mr TopStep

What Mr TopStep does

Mr TopStep is a Chicago-based, privately-held financial news and education platform founded in 2009 that targets active retail traders and investors. The company, led by CEO Daniel ("Danny") Riley and operating with 11-50 employees, appears to be founder/owner-operated with no disclosed venture capital or institutional backing. Headquartered in Chicago, it leverages Riley's 40+ years of floor trading experience as a central brand and editorial asset.

The product portfolio centers on four subscription-based offerings: the Market Imbalance Meter (real-time NYSE MOC and opening auction imbalance data), SpyGate (SPY/QQQ block trade and institutional activity detection), the IMPro Trading Chatroom (live community with mentor access and embedded MIM/SpyGate data), and the Opening Print daily pre-market newsletter. Two additional catalog items, Wyckoff Trader and the Polaris Trading Group partnership, round out the lineup. Core technology is real-time market data processing — ingesting NYSE auction imbalance feeds, SPY/QQQ block prints, and options flow to surface signals — delivered through a web storefront, a live chatroom platform, and an email newsletter. The go-to-market motion is community-led: the chatroom anchors mid-funnel engagement, the Opening Print and daily insights drive top-of-funnel awareness, and individual tools convert via the online catalog.

Revenue is generated entirely through recurring subscription fees across the four core product lines plus add-ons and partner offerings. Pricing is not publicly disclosed. The customer base is a long-tail of individual retail traders and investors served globally through digital channels, with no named enterprise or institutional customers and a content-and-tools distribution model rather than enterprise sales.

Name

Mr TopStep

Website

https://mrtopstep.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Mr TopStep is a Chicago-based, founder-operated subscription platform founded in 2009 that provides active retail traders with real-time NYSE MOC imbalance data, SPY/QQQ block trade intelligence, and a mentor-led live trading community.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Trading Analytics and Education

akta.pro primary industry

Software/SaaS Subscriptions (Consumer & Prosumer) (CRAFAIAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Digital Learning & Course Subscriptions (CRAFAIAD)

Keywords

• Trading education platform
• Market data tools
• Trading chatroom
• Stock market analysis
• Trading newsletter

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. IMPro Trading Chatroom Subscription: Subscription access to live trading community with professional mentors, real-time MiM data, SpyGate alerts, and Opening Print analysis.
2. Opening Print Newsletter Subscription: Daily pre-market newsletter subscription delivered to inbox, authored by Danny Riley with 40+ years of trading experience.
3. Market Imbalance Meter Access: Real-time NYSE MOC and opening auction imbalance data product for active traders.
4. SpyGate Access: Hedge fund detector tool providing SPY block trade intelligence and institutional activity tracking.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Mr TopStep sells subscription-based institutional-grade trading tools and education to retail traders. Its core products include the Market Imbalance Meter (real-time NYSE MOC and opening auction imbalance data), SpyGate (a hedge fund detector for SPY/QQQ block trades and institutional activity), the IMPro Trading Chatroom (a live community with professional mentors), and the Opening Print Newsletter (a daily pre-market analysis authored by Danny Riley).

Product overview

Mr TopStep is a multi-product trading tools and education platform offering institutional-grade trading tools and a community ecosystem. The core product portfolio includes the Market Imbalance Meter (providing real-time NYSE MOC and opening auction imbalance data), SpyGate (hedge fund detector for SPY/QQQ block trades and institutional activity), IMPro Trading Chatroom (live community with real-time MiM and SpyGate data), and the Opening Print Newsletter (daily pre-market analysis by Danny Riley with 40+ years of floor trading experience). Additional offerings include Wyckoff Trader and Polaris Trading Group. These products work together to provide traders with market data, institutional activity detection, community engagement, and professional mentorship.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• IMPro Trading Chatroom: Live trading community with professional mentors, real-time MiM data, SpyGate alerts, and Opening Print analysis.
• Market Imbalance Meter
• SpyGate
• Opening Print Newsletter
• Wyckoff Trader
• Polaris Trading Group

Products and services

• IMPro Trading Chatroom
• Market Imbalance Meter for MOC Real-time NYSE Market on Close and opening auction imbalance data showing buy versus sell pressure and sector rotation before the market close, designed for active traders.
• SpyGate Hedge fund detector that identifies meaningful SPY and QQQ block trades, tracks institutional activity in real time, and monitors unusual options flow.
• Opening Print Newsletter Daily pre-market newsletter delivered to subscribers' inboxes, authored by Danny Riley with 40+ years of floor trading experience, providing key levels, breadth numbers, technical analysis, and market insights.
• Wyckoff Trader Trading tool based on the Wyckoff methodology for analyzing price action and institutional trading patterns.
• Polaris Trading Group Trading group offering providing trading education and community services to active traders.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• SpotGammaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner brand featured on MrTopStep website. SpotGamma provides options analytics and tools.
• LiveSquawkminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner brand featured on MrTopStep website. LiveSquawk provides live market news feeds.
• Pitbull TradersminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner brand featured on MrTopStep website.
• Stock Traders AlmanacminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner brand featured on MrTopStep website. Stock Traders Almanac provides historical market data and seasonal patterns.
• Polaris Trading GroupminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner brand featured on MrTopStep website. Also offered as a product/service through the platform.
• Delta TraderminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner brand featured on MrTopStep website.
• Discovery Trading GroupminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner brand featured on MrTopStep website.
• GTC TradersminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner brand featured on MrTopStep website.
• HandelStatsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner brand featured on MrTopStep website.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Trade-Ideas: Real-time scanning and AI-driven trade idea generation platform for retail and professional day traders. Direct overlap with MrTopStep's real-time flow detection and trader education offering.
• LiveSquawk: Live audio and text squawk service delivering real-time market news and macro headlines to active traders. Comparable news/flow distribution model targeting the same active-trader audience.
• StockTwits: Social platform for traders to share real-time trade ideas and sentiment. Comparable community-led GTM targeting the same active-trader demographic as the IMPro Chatroom.
• Benzinga: Financial news, real-time alerts, and trading education platform serving active retail traders. Comparable content-plus-tools subscription model targeting the same prosumer audience.
• Investors Underground: Day-trading chatroom and education service with real-time trade alerts. Direct overlap with MrTopStep's IMPro Chatroom and trading education products.
• SpotGamma: Options analytics and dealer-positioning tool for active traders. Highly comparable to MrTopStep's SpyGate and Market Imbalance Meter offerings and confirmed as a mutual partner on the MrTopStep site.
• Warrior Trading: Day-trading education platform offering chatroom access, mentorship, and proprietary tools. Highly comparable subscription-based education-plus-tools model for retail day traders.
• Seeking Alpha: Crowd-sourced investment research and newsletter platform with premium subscriptions. Comparable subscription content model serving engaged retail investors.

Broad incumbents

• TradingView: Dominant charting and social-trading platform with global retail trader community. Overlaps with MrTopStep's charting and community functionality but operates at vastly larger scale across many asset classes.
• tastytrade (tastytrade.com): Financial content network focused on options trading education, market commentary, and live programming. Comparable content-plus-education offering aimed at active retail traders, though owned by a larger brokerage parent.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/mrtopstep
• Facebookfacebook.com/mrtopstep
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mrtopstep

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Mr TopStep