Hiding in Hotel, Robinhood CEO Prepares to Face U.S. Lawmakers

Vlad Tenev has been lying low in a hotel, seeking sanctuary from angry clients threatening his life. He will soon emerge to face the angry U.S. lawmakers threatening his business.

The chief executive officer of Robinhood Markets, who turned 34 over the weekend, must somehow calm critics across the political spectrum as he seeks to keep his Silicon Valley startup on track for a stock listing this year. He’s set to testify at a congressional hearing Thursday about the epic January rally in stocks such as GameStop Corp. that ended shortly after Robinhood temporarily restricted certain trading.

In recent days, Tenev has been avoiding going home after receiving death threats, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. Privately, the CEO has been making grim jokes about feeling hated, a nod to the tough audience of lawmakers who could make life harder for his firm.

“In every congressional hearing, in every news story, there’s a victim, villain and a vindicator,” said Gene Grabowski, a partner at crisis communications firm Kglobal. “He’s going to go in there automatically being the villain.”

A spokesperson for Robinhood declined to comment.

In a sense, Tenev has sped up the early life cycle of an emerging Silicon Valley darling displaying the now-familiar pattern of “build it first, beg forgiveness later.”

It wasn’t until Facebook Inc. was 14 years old that Congress first summoned founder Mark Zuckerberg for a grilling, in that case over a data-privacy scandal involving Cambridge Analytica. Tenev cut that time to about eight years, underscoring the heightened responsibility of handling customer investments.

Unlike Zuckerberg, who faced Congress solo, Tenev may take comfort in appearing virtually before the House Financial Services Committee with a group that includes billionaire Ken Griffin, whose firms -- a market maker and a hedge fund -- played different behind-the-scenes roles in January’s mania.

But Tenev is defending a less mature company. Robinhood has yet to stage an initial public offering, direct stock listing or merger with a blank-check investment vehicle -- the three most likely ways that Robinhood could become a publicly traded company and pay off early backers.

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