Robinhood SWE Turned $1B+ Founder on Non-Linear Careers, Being Jaded About Promos, Startup Learnings

Jayendra Jog left Robinhood and raised $35m to start his own crypto startup (Sei Labs). Before he left, he got jaded about software engineering career ladders yet was coasting through promotions at Robinhood. I asked him about how he did that along with a bunch of questions about when to leave your job, how to raise money, and what to expect as a founder. 𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀: • Transcript: https://www.developing.dev/p/quitting-robinhood-and-raising-35m?open=false • YouTube: https://youtu.be/f4eeoetb8t4 • Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-peterman-pod/id1777363835 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:00:54 - Big tech internships 00:04:51 - Joining Robinhood 00:07:58 - Big tech vs startups discussion 00:10:16 - Getting jaded about Robinhood career growth 00:16:04 - Coasting and getting promoted 00:18:54 - Gamestop stories from the inside 00:22:34 - Leaving Robinhood 00:30:25 - Learnings from raising $35m 00:34:07 - What value does crypto provide? 00:37:47 - Learnings and when to leave 00:40:41 - Advice for his younger self 00:41:58 - Outro 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗝𝗮𝘆: • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayendrajog • X/Twitter: https://x.com/jayendra_jog • His Company: https://x.com/Sei_Labs 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝘆𝗮𝗻: • Newsletter: https://www.developing.dev/ • X/Twitter: https://x.com/ryanlpeterman • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanlpeterman/ • Threads: https://www.threads.com/@ryanlpeterman • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanlpeterman • TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ryanlpeterman