Last year, we shared news with our readers about the $20 million raised by Motif, a retail brokerage startup. This past June, the startup came out of stealth mode and has been open for business. Recently, I caught up with Hardeep Walia, founder and CEO, to learn more about how Motif.

Motif is a new type of online retail broker. Its first service is helping consumers buy mini-ETFs (exchange traded funds). ETFs are a basket of stocks and other assets, that trade just like stocks. The difference between a Motif and an ETF is that a Motif is made up of stocks only (30 to be exact) and individuals own each stock in the basket.

Additionally, Motifs are packaged to reflect "ideas" chosen by a retail investor. If a retail investor wants to invest in the "mobile" opportunity, there's a Motif just for them. To buy a Motif, a retailer investor only needs $250 minimum to buy a Motif. Then every time he/she wants to trade that Motif, the fee is $9.50.

"We're focused on empowering individuals to act on their ideas," said Walia. "The problem is not everyone can act on those ideas... Motif is an intelligently-weighted portfolio of stocks that reflect real-world ideas."

Watch Walia explain how he's trying to revolutionize the way consumers buy stocks, and why Motifs are a good way for retail investors to own a basket of stocks that reflect their ideas.