Trust is hard earned and easily lost. We take our responsibility for our customers’ finances seriously. We are compliant, approach risks thoughtfully, and never compromise trust for speed.
Our customers are why we exist. We listen to them, design for their needs, and aim to make our user experience elegant and intuitive. We put what’s best for customers at the center of decision-making, bringing them the best in technology coupled with real value. When there are customer pain points, we fix them quickly.
We level the playing field. We started a movement, breaking barriers so everyone—not just the wealthy—can access the financial system. The elites always find a way to get nicer things, which means our job to "democratize finance for all" may never be complete — which is what makes it so fun.
We’re all invested in the same mission. We earn each other’s trust through honesty, inclusion, and respect – because finger-pointing never does the trick. We invite contrary perspectives, support each other, and debate with energy and kindness. Once decisions are made, we move in unison with ownership and accountability, powered by the thrill of building something great together.
We operate with extreme urgency. We push for progress without compromising quality–and when something is broken, we fix it. We’re driven by impact and pride ourselves in our ability to be nimble and quickly adjust our strategy when presented with new information. Friction and obstacles don't deter us from pursuing what's truly important.
We only follow the crowd when they’re right. We’re innovators and problem solvers. We use data, empirical truth, and experiments to inform decisions. Our bold bets often make us a first mover, and we do what's right for customers - even if it hasn’t been done before.
We do more with less. Constraint drives us to innovate through scalable technology–not excess resources. We set ambitious goals, benchmark performance, and weigh trade offs before changing course. We respect each other’s time by reducing toil and bureaucracy. And by keeping costs low and efficiency high, we deliver exceptional value customers can’t find anywhere else.
Our story began at Stanford, where co-founders Baiju and Vlad were roommates and classmates. After graduating, they packed their bags for New York City and built two finance companies, selling their own trading software to hedge funds. There, they discovered that big Wall Street firms were paying next-to-nothing to trade stocks, while most Americans were charged commission for every single trade. They wanted to change that, so they headed back to California to build a financial product that would give everyone—not just the wealthy—access to financial markets.