The Incredible Double Interview: Superhuman and Robinhood | E2090
This Week in Startups
The Need for Investment Education and Risk Disclosures
This chapter explores the challenges of investing in private companies and emphasizes the necessity of education for investors. It advocates for a structured learning approach akin to licensing, alongside the importance of transparency in risk communication on investment platforms.
Today’s show: Jason interviews Rahul Vohra, CEO and founder of Superhuman, and Vlad Tenev, CEO and co-founder of Robinhood. This is a packed episode featuring founder tips, fun stories about how Superhuman and Robinhood got their start and much more!
Timestamps:
(0:00) Episode teaser(2:13) Product market fit and founder journeys(3:25) Jason's investment in Superhuman and market positioning(5:14) AI's role and features in Superhuman(10:25) Lemon.io. Get 15% off your first 4 weeks of developer time at https://Lemon.io/twist(14:37) Targeting users and competitive advantages(22:23) Evolution and new features of Superhuman
(20:52) Northwest Registered Agent. Get more privacy, more options, and more done—visit northwestregisteredagent.com/twist today!
(24:37) Tackling spam with Superhuman's AI
(27:05) Custom auto labels and email classification
(29:47) Vapi. Go to Vapi.ai and use code Twist200 to get $200 in credits
(32:03) Superhuman's auto reminders and drafts
(34:14) Vlad Tenev and the origins of Robinhood
(39:31) Product design philosophies of Robinhood and Superhuman
(49:29) Scaling design principles and investment decisions(
52:31) Subjectivity in product design
(55:14) Customer feedback in product development
(1:00:00) Superhuman's subscription model and customer acquisition
(1:05:11) PR strategies and news hijacking
(1:12:06) Investment experiences with Robinhood
(1:13:35) Navigating company valuation fluctuations
(1:15:03) Influences on Vlad Tenev and new Robinhood desktop product
(1:22:02) Company resilience and employee reorganization
(1:25:52) Crypto regulation and startup mentality
(1:30:05) Investment trends among Robinhood users
(1:31:12) Retail benefits for startups and capital raising challenges
(1:34:04) Accreditation for private investing and solutions
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Links from this episode:
Check out Superhuman: https://superhuman.com/
Check out Superhuman’s blog post that details all of the new features Rahul went over in the demo: https://blog.superhuman.com/the-next-superhuman-ai/.
Check out Robinhood Legend: https://robinhood.com/us/en/legend/
Article “How Superhuman Built an Engine to Find Product Market Fit”: https://review.firstround.com/how-superhuman-built-an-engine-to-find-product-market-fit/
Check out Rick Rubin’s book: https://www.amazon.ca/Creative-Act-Way-Being/dp/0593652886
Article on Bezos and Washington Post: https://www.newsweek.com/bezos-makes-big-change-washington-post-opinion-focus-endorsed-musk-2036618
Media Bias Chart: https://www.allsides.com/media-bias/media-bias-chart
Check out “Working Backwards” book about Amazon insights: https://www.amazon.ca/Working-Backwards-Insights-Stories-Secrets/dp/1250267595
Check out Rahul’s article on acquisition: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/rip-mailbox-founders-how-stop-worrying-love-being-acquired-vohra/
Follow Rahul:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahulvohra/
Follow Vlad:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vlad-tenev-7037591b/
Follow Jason:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis
Thank you to our partners:
(10:25) Lemon.io. Get 15% off your first 4 weeks of developer time at https://Lemon.io/twist
(20:52) Northwest Registered Agent. Get more privacy, more options, and more done—visit northwestregisteredagent.com/twist today!
(29:47) Vapi. Go to Vapi.ai and use code Twist200 to get $200 in credits
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