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Robinhood’s Vlad Tenev to founders: focus, stay few steps ahead &“make smtg simple &build frm there”

501 views · Published 31 May 2017 · 5:22 · Indexed 20 September 2026

Channel: This Week in Startups · 2017 · Education

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Watch full episode: https://youtu.be/eFgzVXiHgq0

We are pleased to have one of Jason’s investments as our guest today, Robinhood co-founder Vlad Tenev. Tenev went to Stanford in 2004 looking to become an academic, first studying physics and later math. During this time, he met and became good friends with his co-founder Baiju Bhatt. Together, they started a bootstrapped and profitable software company called Chronos Research, which was formed to respond to the increased influence of algorithmic trading in the financial industry. This inspired them to build something bigger than just software that helps hedge funds and banks optimize their trading. Robinhood is a no-fee stock trading app with a mission to open up access to the American financial system. So, whereas other discount brokerages charge $7-$10 for every trade and have account minimums of $500-$2,000, with Robinhood, there are no minimums and no trading commissions, thus tapping into an underserved part of the market. Join us to learn how Robinhood went from a clever idea to a billion dollar valuation.

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