The Quants Are Coming: An Exclusive Interview With Robert Blackwell Jr. About His New Firm, Quant16

If you’ve been in tech and in Chicago, chances are you’ve run into Robert Blackwell, Jr. Those who know him know he’s not just a hard-working serial entrepreneur but also a huge lover of math and algorithms.

I had the great opportunity to talk to Robert about his new firm Quant16, formerly known as EKI-Digital, and their message to the world: The Quants Are Coming.

Using algorithms and analytics, Quant16 helps companies find efficiencies in areas such as tech vendor spending, changing how financial opportunities are identified, predicted, and optimized, aiming to deliver more outcomes faster and for less money.

Here are a few quotes from the interview that provide a glimpse into how Robert Blackwell thinks about Quant16.

Imagine having the capabilities of the Quants

“The old way of managing projects—requesting, approving, controlling, and wishing for successful outcomes—is fragmented, slow, and expensive. It often fails for very predictable reasons.

Quant16 is built on the premise of Monetizable AI as a quantitative approach that allows us to maximize outcomes, optimize investments, and mitigate risk through algorithmic financial opportunity identification and digital execution,” said Blackwell.

Results equal outcomes over time

Imagine innovating like Apple, predicting like Amazon, optimizing like Toyota, pricing like Uber, and monetizing like Google. It's not just about technology; it's about the system of scientific thinking, algorithmic discovery, and digital execution that sets Quant16 apart.

Quant16 is a new way to organize financial opportunities into outcomes-focused portfolios. This method enables quicker identification and execution of portfolio optimization opportunities, fundamentally changing the landscape of revenue maximization, operational spend optimization, and risk mitigation.

No fuzzy math

By starting with the desired outcome and working backward to the investment, Quant16 ensures that every dollar spent is an investment in a monetizable outcome.

"We're not just showing you the potential; we're showing you the money with no fuzzy math involved," Blackwell adds, emphasizing the tangible benefits of their solutions.

Slow is your biggest expense

"Most organizations can't analyze, innovate, or automate fast enough to keep up with the Quants. The old way results in a performance gap and substantial project failure due to a lack of scientific discipline.

We believe markets move toward efficiency, systems move toward self-similarity, and people move toward incentives. By understanding the 'why,' you can predict almost everything, optimize almost anything, and protect almost anyone," said Blackwell.

Thinker-Doers

"We are thinker-doers," Blackwell states, referring to his team of scientists, quants, architects, designers, and engineers dedicated to helping people win. “We're inspired by history's great thinker-doers, the people who changed the world. The Albert Einstein's and Jim Simon's of the world.”

Blackwell's vision for a new era of financial opportunity optimization is not just an aspiration but a reality. He adds, "The Quants are coming to disrupt and destroy the margin. When you're with Quant16, you're equipped to win."

The Quants are indeed coming.