Read on Twitter
I can’t stop thinking about it.
Robinhood’s CEO whiffed on what may have been the *biggest PR opportunity in business history*. He could have become a legend overnight, creating the Tesla of financial services by playing a different game.
Here’s how he should have handled it
Robinhood’s CEO whiffed on what may have been the *biggest PR opportunity in business history*. He could have become a legend overnight, creating the Tesla of financial services by playing a different game.
Here’s how he should have handled it
1) He should have taken a page from @stoolpresidente’s book and approached this with an “us vs. the suits” attitude, but toned down about 30%.
He should have live streamed constant updates to twitter & WSB, creating a sense that we’re in this together.
He should have live streamed constant updates to twitter & WSB, creating a sense that we’re in this together.
2) The first rule of crisis communications is to be brutally honest and provide all the details. Vlad should have taken this to the extreme.
For example, the *instant* RH realized that they were approaching capital or regulatory limits, he should have communicated like this:
For example, the *instant* RH realized that they were approaching capital or regulatory limits, he should have communicated like this:
“Hey folks, we’re seeing insane volume on GSE and a few others [provide numbers]. At this rate we won’t have enough cash to cover our end of the trading volume [provide the regs/rules and math behind it]. As I type this I’m putting together $1 billion of additional financing...
“... to avoid asking you to tap the brakes on trading (cont’d). Rest assured that I will not sleep until this issue is resolved. I’m also opening up funding on @joinrepublic so those of you who are accredited can invest alongside Sequoia to help fund this movement!”
3) He should have provided updates every 30-60 min, creating a “taking on Wall Street” vibe without ever pointing fingers. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity to unite millions of traders and more importantly, public opinion on *both the left and the right* - unprecedented!
With those forces on RH’s side, there’s no losing - you hold all the cards and have all the leverage even if things get ugly.
Here’s the bottom line:
Here’s the bottom line:
When you build a brand around a statement like “let the people trade” you have to live it even when it’s hard.
RH enjoyed the benefits of that brand message (user growth) but it cuts both ways & when hard times came it felt like they sided with the suits. Perception is reality.
RH enjoyed the benefits of that brand message (user growth) but it cuts both ways & when hard times came it felt like they sided with the suits. Perception is reality.
Time will tell what this costs RH. The company will most likely still become a big success. But wow what a missed opportunity. It would it have been fun to see how things played out if it was handled differently.
