Sublime

Yet in the US$32 billion industry for financial data, Bloomberg is the dominant player, with a third of the market. Its position has become even more entrenched over the past ten years, as those around it have lost market share.

In data and analytics, Bloomberg is being challenged by a raft of start-ups. Some of them target smaller investors like me who baulk at paying Bloomberg’s US$24,000 subscription fee. Others target bigger customers who want to go deeper into more specialised data than Bloomberg supports. I use two alternatives—Koyfin and Sentieo.

Michael Bloomberg started his company in 1981. He was already 39 years old. He faced large incumbents with tens of thousands of installed terminals and by global news agencies. Let's take a look at how he cracked the code to become the dominant player in financial information