Vlad Tenev - Navigating Robinhood's Evolution - [Invest Like the Best, EP.384]

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Invest Like the Best

Key Takeaways

• The keys to creating a business culture of excellence:
  • Have a small number of people who are elite in their field
  • Compensate them very well
  • Ensure that compensation and promotion are perfectly tied to performance
  • Ruthlessly minimize bureaucracy
  • Celebrate people who do big things with the fewest number of people possible
• “Mathematical superintelligence” is a more specific way to refer to artificial general intelligence (AGI)
• Mathematical superintelligence is an AI that solves math problems at a superior capability compared to the sum total of all humans on earth
• It will be able to solve any problem, but especially those that have a quantitative element or that require quantitative reasoning
• The coming years and decades include a $100+ trillion wealth transfer from boomers to millennials; given the company’s customer base, Robinhood is well-positioned to benefit from this wealth transfer
• De-emphasize the significance of the “number of people” managed; the desire to manage a larger number of people warps incentives and attracts empire builders instead of problem-solvers
• “Sometimes I just read the reviews of the Robinhood credit card app before bed.” – Vlad Tenev
• Advice for entrepreneurs: Imagine if Frank Slootman took over your company… What are the ten things that he would do?

Read the full notes @ podcastnotes.org

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My guest today is Vlad Tenev. Vlad is the CEO and co-founder of Robinhood. It was such a treat to sit down with him and discuss the behind-the-scenes of a revolutionary business we all know well. He details Robinhood’s journey to zero-cost trading and what it means to build a consumer-centric financial product. Vlad believes in finding the harmonies across mathematics and art and applies this lens to everything he builds. We discuss Robinhood’s new credit card and more products on the horizon, the company’s toughest moments, including the Gamestop episode, and the compelling future of AI in financial services. Please enjoy this conversation with Vlad Tenev.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.
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Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.
Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.
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Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com).

Show Notes:
(00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best
(00:03:56) The Next Frontier in AI: Reasoning and Logical Deductions
(00:06:19) Challenges and Approaches in AI Development
(00:09:08) Formal Mathematics and AI Integration
(00:11:23) Practical Applications of Mathematical Superintelligence
(00:17:30) Robinhood's Journey to Zero-Cost Trading
(00:24:38) Building a Consumer-Friendly Trading Platform
(00:28:52) Robinhood Gold and the Future of Financial Services
(00:35:51) Understanding Robinhood's Business Model
(00:42:34) Navigating the GameStop Crisis
(00:49:17) Improving Customer Satisfaction
(00:52:43) Reputation Repair
(00:54:52) The Future of Financial Services
(00:59:06) Crypto and AI in Finance
(01:08:09) Building a High-Performance Culture
(01:11:42) The Kindest Thing Anyone Has Ever Done for Vlad