Vlad Tenev, Co-Founder & CEO @Robinhood: The GameStop Saga & The Future of AI | E1222

Vladimir Tenev is a Co-Founder and CEO of Robinhood, the commission free stock trading and investing app with a market cap today of $20.7BN. Over the incredible 11 year journey Vlad has raised over $5BN from some of the world’s best investors including Sequoia, a16z, DST, Ribbit and Index. Before Robinhood, Vlad started two finance companies in New York City. ----------------------------------------------- Timestamps: (00:00) Intro (03:56) Is America Still the Land of Opportunity? (06:21) When Have Vlad Turned His Back on the Crowd as a Leader? (09:19) Does Vlad Think He Alienates Enough to Build a Strong Brand? (10:48) How Vlad Builds Resilience to Handle Criticism? (13:29) Lessons From GameStop Times (20:13) On Founder Mode (21:19) Culture Change During COVID (26:07) Why Prioritize Europe and the UK Over the Larger US Market? (28:55) Why Robinhood is Not Big on Crypto? (30:23) How Vlad Decides to Build, Buy, or Partner for New Products? (32:38) Why Has Revolut Outpaced US Competitors Like Chime? (35:35) Key Steps to Reach a $100 Billion Valuation (37:29) Is Investing in a Home Still Relevant? (40:17) About NFTs (42:21) Integrating AI (46:20) Managing Market Volatility & Interest Rate Impact (47:56) Quick-Fire Round ----------------------------------------------- In Today’s Episode with Vlad Tenev We Discuss: 1. Surviving a Scandal: The GameStop Saga: What was the single hardest element of the sage for Vlad? What did the sage teach Vlad about how to tell stories effectively? What did Vlad not do in the period that he wishes he had of done? What did he do that he wishes he had not done? What advice does Vlad have for any founder going into a crisis? 2. Founder Mode and The Biggest BS Myths of Leadership: How does Vlad analyse and assess Paul Graham’s “Founder Mode”? Where is Founder mode right? Where is it dangerous? What canonical leadership statements and lessons does Vlad most disagree with? How has Vlad changed most significantly as a leader? 3. 8x $100M Revenue Lines: Scaling a Juggernaut: What have been the single biggest challenges of scaling 8 lines of revenue each with over $100M in them? What have been Vlad’s biggest lessons on when and how to release new products? Why did Vlad decide to abandon the Europe launch? Was it right with the benefit of hindsight? What did Vlad not invest in with Robinhood that he wishes he had of done? ----------------------------------------------- Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3j2KMcZTtgTNBKwtZBMHvl?si=85bc9196860e4466 Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-twenty-minute-vc-20vc-venture-capital-startup/id958230465 Follow Harry Stebbings on Twitter: https://twitter.com/HarryStebbings Follow Vladimir Tenev on Twitter: https://twitter.com/vladtenev Follow 20VC on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/20vchq Follow 20VC on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@20vc_tok Visit our Website: https://www.20vc.com Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://www.thetwentyminutevc.com/contact ----------------------------------------------- #20vc #harrystebbings #vladimirtenev #robinhood #venturecapital #ceo #foundermode #revolut #chime #stopgame