How do you build an investment community of 1M members, valued at $1.2B, in just 18 months during a pandemic? Leif Abraham, Co-CEO of Public.com, has an answer — and a vision. Launched in 2019, Public.com is both a social media platform and an investing app designed to make the stock market accessible for a new generation of investors. In this episode, Ashish and Leif explore how Public.com is changing the way people engage with the stock market, and why building financial literacy is ultimately a long term investment in public good.

Show Notes:

1:34 - Getting involved with Public.com 

6:37 - Sharing what the first version of Public.com looked like 

8:16 - The power of combining a social networking app with an investing app

9:40 - The challenge of building community on the Public.com platform

12:26 - Acquiring the first 10k users

15:58 - How does financial literacy lead to wealth creation? 

20:10 - Getting new users accustomed to stock market volatility 

22:29 - Designing the team over the course of the pandemic 

31:07 - Building out Public.com during the pandemic

32:32 - The Sprint