E242: How an 18-Year-Old Harvard Dropout Raised $47M

Nov 14, 2025

In this conversation with Steven Wang, a 23-year-old Harvard dropout and the innovative CEO of dub, listeners dive into the explosive growth of retail trading and how it shaped his company. Steven explains the billion-dollar potential of AI dubbing, emphasizing emotion over mere translation. He shares insights on building a productive startup culture, navigating the Gen Z investment mindset, and the impact of social media on retail investor behavior. With a focus on ethical AI development, he discusses challenges in scaling his tech-driven approach to content accessibility.

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INSIGHT

Retail Trading Is Social And Narrative‑Driven

Retail trading exploded from accessibility, cultural shifts, and social media since Robinhood's rise.
That created a new investor generation driven by narratives, not just fundamentals.

ANECDOTE

From Dorm Trading To Founding Dub

Steven Wang started trading seriously during COVID while locked in his Harvard dorm and used that experience to found Dub.
He had prior startup experience from high school, sold a failed VR edtech company, and leveraged previous investors to de-risk leaving school.

ADVICE

De‑Risk Leaving School First

Do de-risk big personal decisions by securing investor commitments or other proof of traction first.
Steven left Harvard after raising funds and paying himself so he could focus on building without immediate financial pressure.

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Can a 23-year-old Harvard dropout build the next billion-dollar company? In this episode, I talk with Steven Wang, founder and CEO of dub, a U.S. copy-trading platform that lets you automatically mirror the portfolios of real investors and traders. We get into why he thinks most retail investors won’t get good at stock picking, why the future is about picking people, not tickers, and how dub is trying to turn social-media-driven, mimetic trading into better financial outcomes. We also cover the retail trading boom, meme stocks, the “retail army,” what dub’s top creators actually do to generate alpha, and how a creator-led marketplace for strategies could reshape how the next generation builds wealth.

Highlights:

Why dub is America’s first regulated copy-trading platform and how it works
The retail trading boom: meme stocks, FOMO, and 20–35% of daily volume coming from retail
How Gen Z thinks about wealth, risk, and becoming a millionaire through investing
What dub’s top creators actually do to generate alpha (micro-caps, swing trading, social influence)
How momentum trading can become real value (GameStop, Opendoor, AMC)
Steven’s founder journey: VR startup at 16, Harvard dropout, and raising $47M
Leadership lessons: moving from micromanagement to mission-driven culture
The Sisyphus mindset, meditation, and staying grounded during low moments
What Steven would tell his 2021 self about reinvention, feedback, and patience

Guest Bio:

Steven Wang is the founder and CEO of dub, a regulated U.S. copy-trading platform that lets investors follow and automatically mirror the portfolios of real investors and creators. Dub is owned and operated by DASTA Inc., with advisory services provided by dub Advisors, LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser, and brokerage services provided to retail customers by DASTA Financial, LLC, an SEC-registered broker-dealer and FINRA/SIPC member, with clearing through APEX Clearing Corporation.

Dub has raised $47 million in total funding, including a $30 million Series A, and offers access to 200+ crowdsourced Creators with real, transparent track records that users can copy starting from small account sizes. Before founding dub, Steven built and sold a VR startup he began as a teenager, worked briefly at Apple, and attended Harvard before leaving to focus on dub full-time.

Our Podcast now receives more than 300,000 downloads a month. Are you interested in sponsoring an episode? Please email David Weisburd at david@weisburdcapital.com.

#VentureCapital #VC #Startups #OpenLP #AssetManagement

Stay Connected:

X / Twitter: David Weisburd: @dweisburd

LinkedIn: David Weisburd: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dweisburd/ Steven Wang: https://www.linkedin.com/in/swangentr/

Links Dub: https://www.dubapp.com/

Questions or topics you want us to discuss on How I Invest? Email us at david@weisburdcapital.com.

(0:00) Introduction (0:14) Retail investors' underperformance and the thesis behind Dub (0:32) Historical context and explosion of retail trading (1:19) Cultural zeitgeist, social media, and trading during COVID-19 (3:12) Dub's mission post-2022 crash and entrepreneurial journey (5:15) Startups: Timing, market conditions, and young entrepreneurship challenges (7:23) Scaling the business, culture, and hiring practices (12:11) Anti-selling in interviews and wealth transfer to younger generations (14:32) Simplifying investing and the importance of trust in decisions (17:09) Broadening participation in wealth creation and investing habits (19:20) Operationalizing trends and building a marketplace of strategies (23:33) Impact of meme stocks and retail investor strategies (27:11) Legal strategies behind traders' success and building a strong network (35:50) Mindfulness, advice for entrepreneurs, and decision-making (38:23) Balancing ambition, patience, and clarity of vision in startups (41:00) Leadership strategies and the power of compounding efforts (41:28) Closing remarks