The Library of Minds Early Robinhood Investor on the Bet that turned $250k into $400M (Chad Byers, Co-Founder of Susa Ventures)
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Mar 5, 2026 
Chad Byers, co-founder of Susa Ventures and early Robinhood backer, is a partner who looks for spiky founders. He recounts the $250k Robinhood bet and what stood out in the product. He explains the spiky people thesis, how data and AI reshape moats, when to heed experts, and why patient, concentrated bets and speed matter in building enduring companies.
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Avoid Market FOMO And Think Long Term
- Avoid fast investment decisions; most quick choices were wrong for Chad.
- He stays grounded by focusing on long-term compounding value, citing Robinhood's huge late-stage appreciation.
AI Is Challenging Enterprise Moats
- Chad's view of enterprise defensibility is evolving as AI can extract value from systems of record.
- He still sees durable moats in proprietary enterprise data but is re-evaluating that assumption.
Not All Data Is Equal For AI Moats
- Data moats remain valuable and not all data is equal; proprietary clinical records (e.g., Epic) represent highly durable moats.
- Such vertical, inaccessible datasets are less likely to be in foundation models and remain defensible.