Tom Sosnoff’s Fintech Innovation Aims to Fix Compensation Inequity

For decades, financial markets have operated on a foundation of real-time value discovery, with every stock, option, and derivative instantly priced by transparent market forces. Yet human capital, arguably the most valuable asset of all, remains governed by static salaries and opaque evaluations. 

Tom Sosnoff, founder of tastylive and tastytrade, is challenging that imbalance. His latest venture, LossDog, applies fintech’s logic of liquidity, data transparency, and dynamic valuation to the world of compensation.

Sosnoff argues that compensation inequity is not an HR issue but a market failure. In traditional systems, pay is determined by negotiation power rather than contribution or measurable performance. The result: persistent gender and opportunity gaps, inefficiency, and mistrust. 

By creating a platform that models compensation as a real-time, data-informed marketplace, Sosnoff envisions a future where every worker can see and negotiate their fair value, much like investors track assets.

Artificial intelligence plays a central role in this transformation. Sosnoff believes AI can quantify output and inform compensation structures, but only if it enhances accountability rather than automates bias. His approach centers on ethical automation, combining quantitative data with human judgment to create fairer, more adaptive pay systems.

Ultimately, Sosnoff’s philosophy is simple: if fintech can democratize trading, it can democratize pay. LossDog is not just about fair salaries; it’s about redefining ownership and participation in wealth creation. Through transparency and tokenization, fintech can bridge the widening gap between perceived and actual value, a step toward equity in both economics and opportunity.

Meet the Expert

Tom Sosnoff is a veteran trader, entrepreneur, and financial innovator best known for building transformative fintech platforms such as thinkorswim and tastytrade, later acquired for over a billion dollars. 

As Co-CEO of tastylive, he continues to challenge conventions in retail finance and investment education. Sosnoff’s latest project, LossDog, represents his most human-centered innovation yet, applying the mechanics of markets to solve systemic compensation inequity and redefine what fairness looks like in the digital economy.

The Big Idea

The traditional compensation model is outdated, inefficient, and inequitable. Salaries are static while contribution is dynamic. Sosnoff’s solution borrows from the core principles of market design: transparency, liquidity, and continuous price discovery.

In his vision, compensation functions like an open market for human capital, one where data replaces bias, and real-time feedback drives fair value. Employees gain visibility into their true worth through live metrics informed by AI and peer benchmarks. Employers gain efficiency by aligning compensation with measurable value creation.

“Fintech has solved real-time pricing for assets,” Sosnoff said. “It’s time we solve it for people.”

This shift represents a new chapter for fintech, moving beyond wealth management and trading into financial inclusion through valuation fairness.

Key Takeaways

  • Compensation inequity is a market inefficiency. Traditional pay structures reward negotiation, not contribution. Transparency transforms fairness into a measurable metric.
  • AI should enhance, not replace, human judgment. Algorithms can assess performance data, but ethical frameworks ensure fairness and context.
  • Ownership is the next evolution of equity. Tokenized and transparent wealth participation can redefine motivation and alignment.
  • Transparency drives trust. Open compensation models reduce bias, empower negotiation, and create lasting organizational loyalty.
  • Fair value is financial value. True innovation in fintech lies in quantifying human potential as precisely as capital markets quantify risk.

Tools, Strategies, or Frameworks Mentioned

  • LossDog Platform: A data-driven compensation system designed to quantify individual worth using AI and real-time metrics.
  • Human-Capital Exchange Layer: Sosnoff’s term for a fintech-powered visibility network that mirrors how markets discover value dynamically.
  • AI-Powered Fairness Modeling: Algorithms that use anonymized, performance-based inputs to calculate equitable pay benchmarks.
  • Tokenized Ownership Framework: Future model for democratizing participation in company growth through blockchain-style equity distribution.

Final Thoughts

Sosnoff’s fintech journey, from building billion-dollar trading platforms to redefining the economics of fairness, reflects fintech’s broader evolution. The next frontier of financial innovation isn’t in products; it’s in people.

“We’ve solved real-time value discovery for assets, but not for human capital. That’s the real inefficiency fintech should be addressing.”

As AI reshapes markets and human work, fintech leaders have a responsibility to embed transparency into the systems that determine value itself. Sosnoff’s Lost Dog may be the first true attempt to treat fairness not as philosophy, but as financial infrastructure.

Full Transcript

https://transcripts/breaking-banks-ep622-compensation-inequity

Want fintech & banking insights every week? Subscribe to The Provoke.fm Briefing

Listen and subscribe to Breaking Banks on your favorite platform

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel

Visit us

[shows-menu]