• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Corporate America has been draining the world's water. Matt Damon's new campaign calls on Gap, Starbucks, and Amazon to help give it back

2

When SpaceX starts trading, some 'shareholders' will discover they own nothing at all

3

Current price of oil as of June 12, 2026

1

Corporate America has been draining the world's water. Matt Damon's new campaign calls on Gap, Starbucks, and Amazon to help give it back

2

When SpaceX starts trading, some 'shareholders' will discover they own nothing at all

3

Current price of oil as of June 12, 2026
TechFinance

Exclusive: Robinhood Made Its First Acquisition Ever — And It’s a Financial Newsletter

By
Polina Marinova
Polina Marinova
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Polina Marinova
Polina Marinova
Down Arrow Button Icon
March 25, 2019, 8:30 AM ET

Robinhood, a no-fee trading stock trading startup, just made its first acquisition, and it’s a millennial-focused media company called MarketSnacks.

This purchase may seem odd for the fintech giant valued at more than $5 billion, but it makes sense given Robinhood’s increased push to become one-stop shop for a young investor’s needs.

“We improved ​market news​ coverage on our platform, added discovery tools on mobile, and revamped our Help Center to better answer your questions,” Josh Elman, Robinhood’s VP of product, writes in a blog post. “Robinhood Snacks is a major step towards building out these resources and helping you get more informed on market news.”

MarketSnacks, a daily podcast and newsletter, focuses solely on finance, featuring a funny photo and humorous analysis on three to four news items each morning. Now, the newsletter will re-brand to “Robinhood Snacks” and the podcast to “Snacks Daily” with exposure to the company’s existing user base of more than 6 million users as well as the general public. MarketSnacks co-founders Nick Martell and Jack Kramer will join Robinhood as managing editors of news and continue to produce the daily news offerings.

“Robinhood approached us and told us that their users were craving easily digestible and accessible business news,” Martell told Fortune. “Robinhood’s done an amazing job at breaking down barriers of financial services and financial products, but users still need good information to participate and be well-informed.”

Robinhood declined to disclose the terms of the deal and did not provide growth metrics for the newsletter. MarketSnacks had “tens of thousands of subscribers” two years ago when I last interviewed the founders.

Founded in 2012, MarketSnacks started as a creative outlet outside of the founders’ full-time jobs on Wall Street. After the markets closed, Martell and Kramer would text each other about what they’d include in the following morning’s newsletter. They then divvied up the sections of the newsletter and took turns editing it each day.

I first subscribed to MarketSnacks in 2014 when I was working at a startup in New York City. I was 22 years old, and my boss recommended a few financial newsletters that were easy to understand. I fit squarely into MarketSnacks’ target demographic as their average user is in their 20s, with 85% of their subscriber base under the age of 36. Roughly half of the newsletter readers are women. Robinhood has a somewhat complementary demographic with its average user being 32 years old and 50% of their customer base being first-time investors.

The newsletter strikes a light-hearted tone while tackling subjects like initial public offerings, acquisitions, and quarterly earnings. The goal is to translate financial news to anyone — even if they don’t work on Wall Street. For instance, rather than saying Chipotle missed on earnings, you’ll read something like, “Everyone has that friend who lamely chooses ‘burrito bowl’ over ‘burrito.’ The latest earnings from Chipotle were like that friend.”

“We make what can be dry and boring really fun and relatable,” Kramer said. “We believe humor is a great tool in making things memorable for people just getting into the financial world.”

Last year, Martell and Kramer quit their jobs to focus on their venture full time and raised funding of an undisclosed amount from Rough Draft Ventures. They also struck syndication deals with clients such as Fidelity Investments and made media appearances on financial news outlets. Robinhood approached the founders this summer and sponsored the newsletter, which ultimately led to an acquisition offer.

“A core element here is that ‘Robinhood Snacks’ will have editorial independence from the rest of Robinhood,” Martell said. “We are committed to a set of editorial principles, just like any committed news organization.”

I’ve written previously about the murky territory tech companies have to navigate when they wade into the business of content. Although Martell and Kramer insist that MarketSnacks will maintain editorial independence from Robinhood, when presented with the following scenario, those lines get blurry. I asked — if Robinhood goes public and the IPO doesn’t go so well, how will you present the event in the newsletter? “The inherent conflict of interest in that case is so strong, we’re not going to cover Robinhood at all, but we will cover everything else with editorial independence,” Kramer said.

But an important distinction is that Robinhood isn’t launching a publication. It sees the MarketSnacks acquisition as a value proposition to existing and future Robinhood customers. Subscribers to the newsletter don’t have to be a user of any Robinhood products.

The other interesting part of this deal is that Robinhood will also scoop up the MarketSnacks podcast, which offers a breakdown of the top three business stories of the day in 15 minutes. The news comes after Spotify bought podcasting startups Gimlet Media and Anchor for a combined $340 million.

“I think podcasting has a huge growth trajectory — the engagement is insane,” Martell said. “To us, this exit is a testament to the power of combining a tech company’s resources with the trust and value of a media platform.”

This article originally ran in Term Sheet, Fortune’s newsletter about deals and dealmakers. Sign up here.

About the Author
By Polina Marinova
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

herrin
CommentaryInfrastructure
America just committed $1.2 trillion to fix its infrastructure. We’re still flying blind
By Gregg HerrinJune 13, 2026
3 hours ago
Melinda French Gates’ advice to new IPO millionaires: ‘Give half your money away’
Startups & VentureMost Powerful Women
Melinda French Gates’ advice to new IPO millionaires: ‘Give half your money away’
By Emma HinchliffeJune 13, 2026
3 hours ago
Aravind Srinivas wearing glasses
SuccessBillionaires
CEO of $20 billion AI firm Perplexity says the secret to success is ‘sleeping with that fear’ that your competitor will steal your idea
By Preston ForeJune 13, 2026
4 hours ago
cyber
Commentarycyber
Accenture cyber leads: why hiring more people won’t solve the cybersecurity talent gap
By Harpreet Sidhu and Vikram DesaiJune 13, 2026
4 hours ago
t
CommentaryHospitality
AI is making promises your brand never made. Hotels are paying the price
By Teresa MackintoshJune 13, 2026
4 hours ago
Raquel Urtasun
SuccessCareers
The ‘AI superstar’ CEO behind a self-driving truck unicorn on why Gen Z is a better hiring bet than industry veterans
By Preston ForeJune 13, 2026
5 hours ago

Most Popular

Corporate America has been draining the world's water. Matt Damon's new campaign calls on Gap, Starbucks, and Amazon to help give it back
Environment
Corporate America has been draining the world's water. Matt Damon's new campaign calls on Gap, Starbucks, and Amazon to help give it back
By Catherina GioinoJune 9, 2026
4 days ago
When SpaceX starts trading, some 'shareholders' will discover they own nothing at all
Investing
When SpaceX starts trading, some 'shareholders' will discover they own nothing at all
By Jim EdwardsJune 12, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of oil as of June 12, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 12, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 12, 2026
1 day ago
American taxpayers have spent $33 billion on sports stadiums. They got fewer seats—and higher prices
Success
American taxpayers have spent $33 billion on sports stadiums. They got fewer seats—and higher prices
By Catherina GioinoJune 11, 2026
2 days ago
U.S. energy secretary says 7 million barrels of oil exiting Persian Gulf daily, but Chevron CEO rebuts the claim
Energy
U.S. energy secretary says 7 million barrels of oil exiting Persian Gulf daily, but Chevron CEO rebuts the claim
By Jordan BlumJune 12, 2026
18 hours ago
Anthropic disables Fable and Mythos AI models after U.S. government bars it from giving foreigners access
AI
Anthropic disables Fable and Mythos AI models after U.S. government bars it from giving foreigners access
By Jeremy KahnJune 13, 2026
9 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.