Qminers
Q is for quantitative. Miners because we mine. Qminers mine data. Their product is software for the so-called “algorithmic trading”. We trade autonomously based on complex, optimised mathematical models and algorithms on many continents. Since its foundation in 2012, Qminers have been growing. They started selling in the spring of 2014, and the number of managed markets and profits are rising, which is not the standard in the financial, consolidating world. The Qminer success results from an honest scientific approach built on mathematics, statistics, modelling and thorough data work in general. The company doesn’t play speed games. They are no flash boys. They build upon smarts and team diversity. Qminers take great care to build a team of top-class specialists on all levels, from mathematics and data analytics, through software engineering, to cybernetics or econometrics. The company’s ambition is to expand into new fields with great potential. What has excellent appeal for Qminers is to solve problems nobody could solve before, yet many people try.
We are figuring out challenges
where we don’t know beforehand if they have any solution and aiming to be among the best in the world.
We focus on solving problems we think are helpful (they can be used to create a more effective functioning of financial markets and exchange in general), extremely interesting (their solution is not trivial and advanced science and research are needed), and in whose solution we can be one of the best in the world. Those are the pillars of our DNA.
We want to belong in the first class and create an excellent port in Prague for people whose ambitions could otherwise lead them abroad. We want to provide an environment to top-class professionals who approach problems creatively and individually and, simultaneously fully use their scientific and engineering talent.
We adhere to an approach based on science, data and complex mathematical models
We focus only on complex data and quantitative analytics
Every idea is firstly verified by our analytics team, modeled and supported with data. After that, it goes to programming and production. Everything happens very fast at Qminers.
Most market makers started with common e-commerce and gradually moved into mathematical thinking. We started at the point of the mathematical approach, which is part of everything we do here. We only focus on complex data and the quantitative nature of things. We don’t start the realisation of new ideas too quickly. Every idea must be verified, modelled and supported with data by our analytics team first. If the concept passes, then it’s time for programming in the form of formulas. Our programmers create the algorithmic structure of an idea. Everything happens very quickly. We often come up with an idea one day, which goes into production the next day. It doesn’t go through lengthy approval rounds or presentations. We can work so quickly, mainly thanks to every one of us understanding multiple fields. We all do our Python data modelling. We don’t need developers for that. Even the people in our HR department know programming.
We successfully scale thanks to our approach
Our ambition for the future is to grow into other markets and exchanges. We want to grow in width and take more risks because we can do that today. We are building our basics in the long-term and thoroughly, enabling us to do scaling. We decided not to improve the solutions incrementally. We want to enter new areas where we see the potential. We create prototypes, and we experiment. Recent projects also give us more freedom to create something from scratch and decide its direction, form, and attributes. By doing this, we build on our strengths, which is why we keep talking about automation, a deeper implementation of machine learning and the effectiveness of our methods. We don’t want to grow twice in our numbers within a year. On the contrary, we want to keep the spirit of a small and tightly-knit company. We want to be the team that delivers excellent results from Prague to the rest of the world.
Not many places where science is fun
To focus without unnecessary paperwork, to be surrounded by like-minded colleagues who love to deal with seemingly unsolvable problems.
Money is not the main appeal of financial markets
We don’t run races. We don’t want quick profits from speculating or living on the edge of rules. The appeal of markets is purely scientific for us. We want to combine the things we love doing – probability, optimization, game theory, software engineering, advanced programming, mathematical modeling, machine learning, cybernetics, econometrics and other scientific fields.
There are few places where we could use our knowledge and skills on such an advanced level and immediately see the result of our work and feedback without any sugar-coating. We enjoy the dynamics and competition of financial markets. What works today doesn’t have to work tomorrow. We need to evolve constantly.
The basic principle of Qminers is that we can all work on the things we are the best at.
We create an environment that enables us to focus on our strengths long-term and further develop them. Our processes are built so that all paperwork is outsourced to other companies so we can focus on the most critical aspects. We don’t lose time by writing scientific reports or having useless meetings with managers who wouldn’t even know what we are working on. We don’t have any clients who wouldn’t know what they want or who would change their minds during the process. We only have one stable partner, an American company, with clear expectations, and it is a pleasure to work with them. We don’t chase our results. We provide work of excellent quality systematically.
We make individual and decentralized decisions
We know where we are going and what we want to achieve. We don’t tell people what projects to work on. They decide if they wish to work on something or not. When starting a new project, we discuss together who will work on what, and then it is each person’s responsibility.
We expect from everyone that they are doing what they can and what they deem to be essential and correct, and the only thing we require is quality ideas and coding so that it passes reviews and is buildable. That doesn’t mean we all do things willfully our way: we discuss the results, offer alternatives, give criticism, and ask each other for advice and opinions. But the final decision is up to its maker.
The company is unique – it is not a corporate company, it has a start-up mentality, and nobody is bitter, mean or burnt out. We are all fresh, energetic and motivated.
We discuss all together, from ideas to solutions
We would describe our style as individually collaborative
We are a fantastically coordinated team. Precision is typical for us. We log and debug everything. Every conclusion is reproducible. We create complex solutions. We rely on each other and know our strengths and limitations. We don’t micromanage and check each other’s work. We are Qminers because we want to work and create together. We do sports and go on trips together, race in pull-ups on the porch and have breakfast together every Monday but what we love doing together the most is mathematics, machine learning, data models and other disciplines. We love our job.
The style of our work is individually collaborative. We deal with most tasks individually but discuss many of them together. After that, we transfer them into algorithms, zeroes and ones. We search for solutions together, but it is up to us to finish the solution.
We have a lot of flexibility. You can talk everything out with the owners. I’m on maternity leave, but I returned to work relatively soon and could work from home. We made changes to the work to be the most suitable. Before that, I was working on a complex solution and needed a lot of time for focused programming. Now I deal with smaller topics I need less time for so that it works for me at home.
Qminers
We are situated in modern offices in Palace Špork, Hybernská street. It’s close to the metro and the train. We have a big porch with an open-air conference room, workout corner, gooseberry, apple trees, currants and other yummy stuff. We like to meet there when the weather is nice. The inside is dominated by screens with the products that we have in the kitchen. Everyone can see how and what we’re doing.
When studying at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, I felt at home. We are a unique bunch of people. Since then, I haven’t felt like that anywhere else. Until coming here. People in Qminers are much like me, and I feel at home here. People here are intelligent, friendly and helpful.
Working here is like a continual IQ test. It’s not as abstract but what you do all the time is solve logical puzzles.
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