“What’s in a name?” is a question that traces its roots back to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and we didn’t take choosing our name lightly when founding the company in 2021. We were determined that it would represent our mission. So what on earth does a hedgehog have to do with individuals investing in real-world assets?!

The origin of our company’s name is actually another piece of literature, which was originally written by the ancient Greek poet, Archilochus. The Russian-British philosopher, Sir Isaiah Berlin, popularised the idea in his book, The Hedgehog and the Fox, which was written in 1953. Jim Collins then famously forged “The Hedgehog Concept” in his book, Good to Great, which brought it to the attention of our founders.

“A fox knows many things, but a hedgehog knows one big thing”

is a line that stands out in all three texts. The hedgehog’s simple defence – rolling up into a ball and using its quills as a protective barrier – perpetually baffles the cunning fox. As Jim Collins says, foxes love complexity and showing how smart they are whereas the hedgehog knows the world is complex but also knows the value of simplifying it.

Simplicity resonates strongly with us. We have a simple mission: to make it possible for anyone to benefit from investing in real-world assets.

Previously, access was restricted for individuals, who faced limited choice, high costs and complex processes. Our founders knew from prior experience that the world of investing is full of complex challenges and that investing in real-world assets would remain out of reach for many unless we simplified it.  

While we established the company with this simple democratisation solution in mind, the name “Hedgehog” has prompted a variety of reactions in our users since. Some people start dreaming of younger days watching Sonic the Hedgehog, while others tell us it reminds them of a cute, cuddly animal, and triggers a purely emotional response for them. Our vision and mission remain firmly on the wall, but the countless smiles and audible “aww’s” have encouraged us to channel human emotions in everything we do. We hope that the end product is a user experience that is fun, engaging and impactful.

Hedgehog is a blockchain-driven investing platform that makes fractional investments in real world assets available to individual investors.

Nothing in this article constitutes financial advice or guidance. The content in this article is an opinion and is for general information purposes only. It is not intended to be financial advice. The value of your investment can go up or down so you may get back less than your initial investment.