Early Robinhood Backer Ribbit Capital Is Fintech’s Dark-Horse Investor (Business Insider)

Melia Russell in Business Insider (February 2021) on Ribbit Capital: its early bets on Robinhood, Credit Karma, Coinbase, Affirm and Wealthfront, and why peers admire its experimental investing.

Why it was kept

The passages Kyle kept: Micky Malka on Robinhood emerging stronger, Ribbit’s long bets before fintechs blew up, its creativity (investing in Bitcoin directly, floating a SPAC), and Sundeep Peechu on the founders’ conviction and track record.

As Kyle captured it

• Early Robinhood backer Ribbit Capital is fintech’s dark-horse investor by Melia Russell
  • “We’re confident that Robinhood will emerge stronger through this phase of growth and unprecedented demand,” Meyer “Micky” Malka, founder and managing partner of Ribbit Capital
  • Ribbit Capital is known for its long bets on fintechs before they blew up, like Credit Karma, Coinbase, Affirm ($AFRM), and Wealthfront.
  • Still, the small, but mighty team at Ribbit Capital has earned the admiration of some of its peers for its experimental investing. “As a peer what I admire most is their creativity from investing in Bitcoin directly to floating a SPAC to co-creating a startup with Walmart,” Sundeep Peechu told Insider in an email. “It shows a commitment to push the frontier relentlessly.” Investing 101 2.0
  • “Founders like their conviction and hustle and their track record speaks for itself,” Sundeep Peechu, managing director and a founding member of Felicis Ventures, who’s served on company boards with Ribbit partner Nick Shalek, said.