Vlad Tenev walked through Stanford’s campus like a man revisiting the scene of his own revolution. The Robinhood co-founder, class of 2008, stopped by a coffee stand run by an old fraternity friend.
Around him, students scrolled, texted, and walked past, unaware that the guy in line once blew up Wall Street’s playbook. “We try very hard to stay relevant to the next generation,” Vlad said. “We don’t want to get stuck being just a millennial company.” He’s 38 now, but his company still wants the same thing it did a decade ago; the youth, their attention, and their money.
Back in 2014, Vlad and Baiju Bhatt launched Robinhood to “democratize investing.” Their app made trades free, quick, and social; more TikTok than traditional brokerage. It was a rebellion against the old guard.
Between 2016 and 2022, adults under 35 went from being the least likely to have brokerage accounts to the most likely, and 27 million users eventually joined. They traded stocks, crypto, and now even sports bets through what the firm calls events contracts. But the success came with chaos.
Robinhood faces backlash and reinvention
The same features that made Robinhood fun made it dangerous. The app’s dopamine-fueled alerts and flashing stats made trading feel like a game. Critics accused it of turning investing into gambling. Brad Barber, a finance professor, warned that “it may pay off for some, and they’ll go on to make wonderful podcasts about how to get rich quick. But it will devastate many more.”
That warning proved real. In 2020, a 20-year-old user killed himself after mistakenly thinking he owed $700,000. Then came the GameStop frenzy, when Robinhood froze trades as prices hit $500. Lawmakers grilled Vlad over it. The IPO that followed was a flop. Lawsuits, fines, and layoffs piled up.
Vlad reacted by hiring what he called “grown-ups.”
Former SEC commissioner Dan Gallagher became chief legal officer. Veteran broker Steve Quirk joined to stabilize operations. Since 2020, the firm has paid about $257 million in fines and settlements. But with Donald Trump back in the White House, the company’s stock shot up 504% after Election Day.
In September, Standard & Poor’s added Robinhood to the S&P 500, pushing both founders into the world’s 500 richest people. Gallagher said, “We have more credibility with regulators and policymakers, and they’re listening to us.”
While older wealth managers still cater to people with big accounts, Robinhood plays the long game. Its customers are mostly younger, with an average balance of around $10,000, barely 4% of the average at Schwab.
The plan is simple: if those users grow richer, the firm grows with them. It now offers retirement portfolios, high-yield savings, and even 401(k) tools. In 2023, it rolled out an unlimited 1% transfer match. One Silicon Valley investor, Aadik Shekar, said, “I didn’t believe it at first. I moved about 10% of my assets, but I left most at Schwab—for peace of mind and the grown-ups.”
Robinhood pushes Gen Z bets and new products
Despite a push toward maturity, Robinhood hasn’t lost its taste for risky experiments. It now hosts sports betting, where users wager on events, from Oscar nominations to absurd side bets like “whether a green dildo will get thrown onto a WNBA court.”
Critics call it reckless. Vanguard’s Andy Reed said, “The key is to help people understand the difference between gambling, trading, and investing.” But Tenev disagrees. “There’s no reason an app can’t offer memecoins and retirement accounts,” he said. “Like a grocery store selling both carrots and Ding Dongs.”
To keep younger investors hooked, Robinhood plans social trading feeds that let users share and mimic trades, plus stunts like gold bar sweepstakes and home cash delivery; think Grubhub, but for money.
Vlad insists this mix fits America’s spirit. “Robinhood sits at the intersection of capitalism and democracy,” he said. “Capitalism has come under attack recently. Some question if it’s good, and I think we can defend it.”
The firm’s next political play is even bolder. It’s backing a Trump-era plan for $1,000 tax-advantaged investment accounts for every child born after July 4, 2026. Vlad says Robinhood is “very engaged” in making it happen. He hinted others will join, but added, “Do I think they’ll do it quickly or effectively, or that their customers will be the ones having children? Not so much.”
The company calls it its biggest generational bet yet, winning loyalty from birth. “Our best shot at getting them is at the beginning,” said Vlad.
Europe’s also on the radar. The app launched tokenized equities for EU customers, blockchain-based versions of company shares, and gave away tokens tied to OpenAI, Sam Altman’s $500 billion startup. Altman disavowed them, but the stunt worked.
Shares of Robinhood jumped 14% to record highs. Two months later, another 16% spike came when the firm officially joined the S&P 500, replacing Caesars Entertainment. The shift forced $4 trillion in index funds to rebalance, boosting demand for the stock.
The irony isn’t lost on the industry. Decades ago, index funds were ridiculed for rejecting stock-picking. But low trading costs made them mainstream. Now, thanks to Robinhood, free trading is the standard. Even rivals like Schwab and Fidelity offer crypto and options. Whether anyone likes it or not, the financial world has become the one Robinhood built; chaotic, digital, and permanently open for business.
