David Senra · Nov 11, 2026 · 1h 11m · 62m saved
With Vlad Tenev, Co-Founder and CEO of Robinhood
Photo via Wikipedia
During the GameStop mania of January 2021, Robinhood's overnight clearing-capital requirement came through first at $3 billion, then $1.8 billion, then $7 billion. Vlad Tenev, co-founder and CEO of Robinhood, told David Senra on his podcast that the first call he made was to Micky Malka of Ribbit Capital, who committed about $500 million on the spot.
Malka did not have the cash in hand. He drew it from a line of credit at Silicon Valley Bank, whose chief executive was on a golf course in Hawaii, and that one fast yes made every investor call after it easier.
"Time kills all deals, so having Micky actually answer the phone and commit on the spot got things started for us." — Vlad Tenev
Vlad grew up in a family whose savings were wiped out by Bulgarian hyperinflation, started investing real money at 12 and left a math PhD under Terence Tao to start the company that preceded Robinhood.
The full interview is covered here so you can skip it. 71 minutes of audio, 9 minutes of reading.
Here are the 8 moments that matter.
Key Takeaways
Ribbit Capital passed on Robinhood's $10M seed and still became the investor Vlad trusted most
Robinhood's capital requirement swung from $3B to $1.8B to $7B overnight during GameStop
GameStop was marked position closing only, so customers could only sell
Micky Malka committed about $500M on one phone call, borrowed from a bank whose CEO was on a golf course
Demand reached about $10B against the original terms
Bulgaria's 1997 inflation was the highest in the world, and Vlad's grandparents' savings were copper cookware
Vlad turned an SAT bet with his father into a real portfolio at 12
Robinhood began when a $2M software business failed Vlad's 50-year legacy test
1. Why Founders Trust Malka
David opened on the investor the two of them know in common.
"You and I have a mutual friend in Micky Malka. I'm a massive fan of his. ... it's very hard to find anybody that has a better reputation with founders than Micky Malka." — David Senra
Ribbit Capital, Malka's firm, started at about the same time as Robinhood and passed on its $10 million seed round. The relationship grew through Ribbit's Series A investment and its seat as a board observer.
Micky Malka predicted he would be the investor Vlad wanted more of
During a tense negotiation over board rights, Malka told him how it would turn out.
"Vlad, you're going to learn this about me. I'm going to be the only investor that you're actually, five years from now, 10 years from now, you're going to say, 'I wish you were more involved,' and you're going to want me on your board." — Vlad Tenev
When Robinhood went public, Malka was the only board observer to get a full board seat. Vlad offered it to him six months after the IPO, because he valued his counsel.
