What does it take to break into the lucrative world of hedge funds? It’s a question that countless Wall Street up-and-comers would love to see answered, as they look to graduate from the 100-hour-per-week grind of banking to the relative glamour – and massive income opportunity – of hedgies. It used to be that you had to be an Ivy League graduate with a Type-A personality and a razor sharp mind to even sniff the rarified air of hedge funds. Now, thanks to the democratizing effects of Boston startup Quantopian, those barriers to entry have never been lower. Quantopian, which offers mathematicians and quantitative thinkers a turnkey platform to develop, test, and execute algorithmic trading strategies, has previously stated its intention of building a crowdsourced hedge fund.

http://pando.com/2015/03/05/finance-novice-beats-hedge-fund-pros-wins-100k-in-inqugural-quantopian-trading-contest/