From fintech to space tech: Robinhood co-founder Baiju Bhatt is betting on space solar
As the interest in both space and solar grows, one startup aims to merge the two industries. By tapping into the momentum of the commercial space industry and the increasing demand for renewable energy, Robinhood co-founder Baiju Bhatt is on a mission to make space-based solar power a reality with his latest startup: Aetherflux.
Today on Equity, Rebecca Bellan caught up with Bhatt to talk about his transition from fintech to deep tech and why he believes now is the right time to scatter solar power-collecting satellites across the skies.
Listen to the full episode to hear more about:
How Aetherflux approached funding as a bootstrapped startup (for now), and what investor interest in space-based solar looks like.
The challenge of scaling tech that’s literally out of this world.
And Bellan and Bhatt’s idea for a Burning Man light show.
Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday.
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Robinhood Co-founder Baiju Bhatt on the Journey to $40B, Building Space Solar Power with Lasers
You’re probably familiar with Baiju Bhatt’s work as the co-founder of Robinhood. But he’s also obsessed with space, and recently started Aetherflux, a space solar power company.
We get into the physics of using lasers to beam solar power to the Earth, Aetherflux’s early roadmap, and how he went from zero to one going from building software to physical products.
We also talk through the early days of Robinhood, getting turned down by hundreds of early investors, the accidental launch, how to know if you really have product market fit, how Aaron Levie at Box helped get Robinhood.com, the value of creativity and design, Baiju’s philosophies on combining qualitative and quantitative user research, and his favorite animal and classic car. He also tried to cut my hair.
Timestamps:
(00:00) Intro
(02:31) Aetherflux: a space solar energy company
(02:50) Origins of space solar power in the 40's & 70's
(10:31) Safely beaming energy from space to Earth with lasers
(13:46) Building floating space solar farms
(21:27) Aetherflux's early roadmap
(27:08) Growing up with dad as a Physics professor
(32:18) Going zero to one building physical products
(35:15) Baiju's favorite car, attempting a haircut, contemplating mustaches
(38:27) Trying to prove Einstein wrong
(41:42) Meeting Robinhood Co-founder Vlad at Stanford
(44:10) Starting an algorithmic trading company
(46:41) The beginnings of Robinhood
(52:04) Getting turned down by hundreds of early investors
(56:49) How they convinced Tim Draper to invest
(59:39) Getting Robinhood.com because of Aaron Levie
(01:01:28) Accidentally launching on a Friday afternoon
(01:03:09) How to know if you have Product Market Fit
(01:06:35) Combining qualitative and quantitative user research
(01:14:23) Loving cats despite being allergic
Referenced:
Robinhood: https://www.robinhood.com
Aetherflux: https://www.aetherflux.com/
TechCrunch coverage: https://techcrunch.com/2024/10/09/billionaire-robinhood-co-founder-launches-aetherflux-a-space-based-solar-power-startup/
Seinfeld mustache scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzZsLaLChRg
The Michelson–Morley experiment: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelson%E2%80%93Morley_experiment
Episode with Aaron Levie @ Box: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLn_tqPvNf4
Follow Baiju:
X/Twitter: https://x.com/BaijuBhatt
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bprafulkumar
Follow Turner:
X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/TurnerNovak
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/turnernovak
Subscribe to my newsletter to get every episode + the transcript in your inbox every week: https://www.thespl.it/
20VC: RobinHood's Baiju Bhatt on The Importance Of Design in Fintech and Having A 10X Better Product
Baiju Bhatt is the Co-Founder and CEO at RobinHood, the wildly successful stock market trading app with absolutely no commission fees. Since launching RobinHood there have been many amazing milestones including being awarded an Apple Design Award (first Finch company ever to achieve this), funding from the likes of Index, Google Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz and even movie star Jared Leto. They were also nominated for best mobile app at The Crunchies by TechCrunch this year.
In Today's Episode You Will Learn:
1.) How Baiju made his way into the world of tech and came to found RobinHood?
2.) How did Baiju deal with the regulatory hurdles heading into the fintech and trading world?
3.) How did Baiju go about building the waitlist for RobinHood to 1m people? What were the defining strategies and channels that made the difference?
4.) What is the thesis behind the design of RobinHood? Will this design enable previously untouched markets to tap into the growing trading market?
5.) What are the biggest challenges for Baiju and RobinHood going forward? What keeps Baiju up at night? What is Baiju's biggest piece of advice to a founder scaling their startup?
6.) How can early stage founders really determine whether they have product market fit and what does this look like? What re the metrics required to suggest serious traction?
Items Mentioned In Today's Show:
Baiju's Fave Blog or Newsletter: TechCrunch
Baiju's Fave Productivity Tool: Slack
Baiju's Fave Book: The Case For Mars
As always you can follow The Twenty Minute VC, Harry and Baiju on Twitter here! If you would like to see a more colourful side to Harry with many a mojito session, you can follow him on Instagram here!
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