2026-09-23
Discovery for Paper Trading Apps: The Questions That Matter
Not financial advice. Verify claims independently.
Before a line of code: the eight questions that decide whether a trading-app build succeeds.
Every paper-trading build starts with the same discovery meeting. The questions that actually matter:
- Real or simulated fills? — Simulated fills teach bad habits; real market data costs money. Pick honestly.
- Delayed or live data? — Live costs 10x. "Realistic" is a budget conversation, not a tech one.
- Options or stocks only? — Options triples scope (chains, greeks, assignment risk).
- Gamification or fidelity? — Streaks attract users; realistic friction teaches trading. You can't fully have both.
- Who owns the regulatory boundary? — "Paper trading" is safe only if no real money touches anything.
- What's the retention loop? — Daily challenges? Competitions? The build dies without it.
- Solo or social? — Leaderboards = scope.
- What does success look like at month 3? — If the answer is "downloads," stop. It's engagement.
Stock Picks answered all eight before sprint one — that's why it shipped.
From the desk
Want this built into your product?
Open a work order — or try Stock Picks, the paper-trading app we shipped as our flagship case study.