Baiju Bhatt's 'friend check': Robinhood co-founder backs startups with cheques of up to $100,000

When startup founders need their first investor, some turn to venture capital firms. Others turn to friends. And if that friend happens to be billionaire entrepreneur Baiju Bhatt, the cheque could be worth as much as $100,000.

The Robinhood co-founder revealed that he regularly invests between $50,000 and $100,000 in startups launched by friends, family members and acquaintances, offering a rare look into how Silicon Valley's wealthy founders help bankroll the next generation of entrepreneurs.

Speaking in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Bhatt said he has developed what he calls a "friend check" — a personal investment he is willing to make when someone in his network approaches him with a business idea.

"If friends want you to invest in something, generally I'll kind of set a threshold of like a friend check," Bhatt said. "I will support you because you're a friend."

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The amount is not insignificant. A $50,000-$100,000 investment can help an early-stage startup build a prototype, hire its first employees or survive long enough to attract larger investors.

Bhatt said he is not trying to build a sprawling investment portfolio. Instead, he views the cheques as a way of supporting people around him while remaining focused on his own ventures.

The billionaire entrepreneur added that he does not blindly fund every idea that lands in his inbox. Before writing a cheque, he must be convinced by the business itself.

"I have to make sure I believe in the idea, and I don't disagree with it," he said.

The comments shed light on an often overlooked part of the startup ecosystem. While venture capital firms dominate headlines with multi-million-dollar funding rounds, many companies begin with much smaller investments from founders, former colleagues and wealthy friends willing to take an early risk.

He co-founded Robinhood with Vlad Tenev after years of setbacks and repeated rejections from investors. In the same interview, he recalled receiving more than 70 "nos" before the company finally gained traction.

Today, Robinhood has become one of the most recognisable retail investing platforms in the United States, helping turn Bhatt into a billionaire.

Since stepping away from day-to-day leadership at the company, he has embarked on a new venture: Cowboy Space, a startup developing space-based solar power technology and orbital infrastructure.