I’m Baiju Bhatt, CEO of Robinhood and This Is How I Work
Together with Vlad Shadow, second-generation American Baiju Bhatt founded the Robinhood stock brokerage service, which allows users to trade public stocks from their mobile devices without paying commission and maintaining a minimum balance. Their app has over 2 million users. Baiju founded Robinhood, his third company with Vlad, when he was just 27 years old. This is how it works.
Location: Palo Alto, California. Current place of employment: Co-founder and co-CEO of Robinhood. One word that best describes how you work: scientifically. Current mobile device: iPhone 6S Current computer: 2013 MacBook Pro covered with stickers
First of all, tell me a little about your past and how you became who you are today.
I am an only child and son of two immigrants; my parents moved to the United States when my father was accepted for graduate school in theoretical physics at Huntsville University, Alabama. I grew up in a small town – Pokwoson, Virginia – and went to school at Stanford, following in my father’s footsteps, studying physics. In college, I met Vlad Tenev, who at the time was a long-haired guy with a quirky sense of humor and a penchant for night chess. The two of us became best friends and formed two companies together in New York before founding Robinhood in California.
What apps, software or tools can’t you live without?
My ballpoint pen and Moleskine notebook.
How is your workplace arranged?
Quite simple: external monitor and my laptop.
What’s your best time-saving shortcut or life hack?
I run outside almost every day of the week. I usually go out at lunchtime for an hour’s jogging through the Palo Alto neighborhoods and the Stanford campus. It helps me clear my head and creatively put everything I thought of into one piece. Plus, when I return, I am energized and overall I feel great.
What’s your favorite to-do list manager?
I am using Notes Mac application. It’s simple and gets the job done!
What are some of your best everyday activities? What’s your secret?
I have always had strong willpower. Over the years, I have overcome difficulties as I tune in to them, which proved to be especially true as I created Robinhood and grew as a leader.
Personal, but very important example from my childhood. As a child, I have always struggled with being overweight. When I was in my sophomore year of high school, I decided I wanted to change that once and for all. That spring, I started exercising every single day, and by the time I went into my junior year, I had lost almost 70 pounds. I looked and felt like a completely different person.
What do you listen to while you work? Have a favorite playlist? Maybe we can talk on the radio? Or do you prefer silence?
Lately I really like the new tracks Arcade Fire, Everything Now and Creature Comfort. I usually listen to music while I work, but mostly it’s instrumental stuff because it’s hard for me to hear lyrics and write or read at the same time. Several albums in active rotation are “Moon Safari” by Air and “Selected Ambient Works 85-92” by Aphex Twin. Oh, and fun fact: I played guitar in a funky jazz band in college and worked as a DJ under the moniker “Thelonious Mustache”.
What are you reading now? Or what would you recommend?
Last week I read a graphic novel called Head Lopper, which has amazing illustrations. Last month I went to Japan and read Alan Watts ‘s The Zen Way . That was fantastic too.
How do you replenish? What do you do when you want to forget about work?
I spend so much time using technology or thinking about building technology, so I enjoy spending my free time doing old-fashioned analog classes. Two of my favorite ways to recharge are taking long walks in the woods outside Stanford and playing cards with friends.
What is your sleep pattern? Are you a night owl or get up early?
I usually get out of bed by 7 am. I like to get through the traffic jams in the Bay Area by getting to the office early, plus in most cases I have at least an hour in the morning to work on my personal projects before being pulled into meetings.
Fill in the blank: I would like _________ to answer these same questions.
Alexander Hamilton
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
“Your job will fill most of your life, and the only way to be truly fulfilled is to do what you consider to be great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Disagree. As with everything about the heart, you will know when you find it. And like any great relationship, it gets better and better over the years. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t agree. ” – Steve Jobs, Graduation Address at Stanford University, 2005