Long-Term Stock Exchange (LTSE)

01The full story

Eric Ries built the Long-Term Stock Exchange as a new listing venue with standards intended to support long-term company behavior. He says the project raised money, assembled a team that left more lucrative jobs, secured partners willing to adopt its standards, and petitioned the SEC. Ries recounts that opponents pressured the exchange to use the same listing standards as established venues, warning that refusal could lead to bankruptcy. He and the team rejected that compromise. Later, he says LTSE recovered, obtained approval, lists companies, makes money, and operates as a going concern. The conversation provides no revenue, listing count, or capital total, so the evidence is a founder's broad account of commercial operation rather than a quantified performance record. This is a regulated institutional business, not a small software clone. Its story is useful for founders considering markets where credibility, governance, and aligned partners matter as much as product demand.