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In 2021, , 41% of Americans under the age of 35 were invested in the stock market. Valued at and rising, Titan is looking to push that number upwards.

Founded in 2018 by Joe Percoco (Co-CEO), Clayton Gardner (Co-CEO), and Max Bernardy (CTO), Titan, described as “a hedge fund in your pocket,” is at work to curate a first-class investing experience for everyone. Titan builds, manages and explains investment funds, all via its sleek, user-friendly app. The days of putting off investing due to intimidation or a clunky user experience are over. And as it turns out, taking time to enhance the stodgy investing experience has paid off. In 2021, Titan closed a Series A led by General Catalyst and a Series B lead by Andreessen Horowitz.

The first direct-to-consumer, mobile-first investing platform

When asked about the first moment of recognition that made him feel building Titan would pay off, Joe Percoco told The Org, “When we went live in Spring '18 and our early user base was shooting us notes: ‘I love this.’; ‘Finally.’; ‘Heck yes.’” The inkling that evolved into what the company calls “a new-guard active investment manager” started over a decade ago. Percoco and Gardner were close friends at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Bernardy had recently graduated from Stanford University. Their personal paths in hedge funds (Percoco and Gardner) and software engineering with a patent in hedge fund software (Bernardy) led them to a universal questioning: Why were the tenants of long-term investments with a focus on owning high-quality businesses only for the ultra-wealthy?

Cut to 2022. Today, Titan is redefining what confident investing can feel like for the digital native. The company’s include Flagship, Opportunities, Offshore and most recently, Crypto. Titan’s website features the quote, “The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The realist adjusts the sails,” by the 20th century writer William Arthur Ward. It turns out, adjusting the sails became more than an adage just last year. When cultural shifts toward embracing cryptocurrency began, Titan was prepared to respond.

“We weren't planning to launch a Crypto strategy,” Percoco told The Org. “As a long-term fiduciary, Crypto is a complex asset class, unlike stocks which are well-understood. Awareness and desire to invest in Crypto really took off amongst our client base. We felt the wind, so we adjusted the sails.” Ninety days later, Titan launched the first-ever actively-managed crypto for retail.

Bracing for “colossal impact”

Building a team to meet massive consumer interest — leading to for Titan in 2021 alone — is no simple task. When it comes to finding colleagues and advisors, Percoco points to the snowball effect. “One exceptional conversation, leads to another, leads to another, and in time, you've found yourself in an ecosystem of some of the best thinkers in the country.” Getting on the calendar of “some of the best thinkers in the country” can be chalked up to how “purpose-driven” Titan is, according to Percoco. He told The Org, “We are looking to truly make colossal impact — and they see that.”

Titan’s HQ in New York’s Soho neighborhood feels like a veritable Garden of Eden in contrast to the lifeless, stark white offices we’ve grown accustomed to associated with accelerated financial service and tech companies. Plants dot the open workspace that feels at once inviting and elevated, very much in the brand’s ethos. “We think most companies, in a remote work era, have forgotten that we're all humans first. Many people we're interviewing are refreshed by the idea that we have a vibrant, physical space they can come to at any time,” Percoco said. He went on to explain how remote work, despite its flaws, has enabled Titan to accelerate hiring.

Leading Titan with poise starts with five to ten minutes of mindfulness every day for Percoco. The effort to take a step back and posture toward awareness extends. “I tell our team this, but if we're going to be seeking to aggressively scale Titan at 150mph, the key is to remain calm in the cockpit,” Percoco said. Staying organized is critical to his leadership abilities. For this, Percoco relies on “a structured table of every critical project and action item I need to do, along with another one of all my direct reports and how I can support them.” His daily rituals are formed based on this list, like a sail adjusting to wind.

Founders File Q&A

What's one piece of advice you wish you could tell your younger self?

You're on a meteor going around the sun, and you'll be off this meteor in the blink of an eye. There are only two things you need to get right: Savor your time here and leave it better off than when you came.

What other role, or individual, at Titan do you feel you can learn the most from?

Believe it or not, I learn something from every role at Titan. They are all exceptional at what they do — my leadership approach is to hire A+ talent and then get out of their way. Three recent examples: Asha, our Customer Experience lead, reminded me how important customer empathy is (she's on the front lines); Diana, our People lead (she's new but stellar), showed me how important onboarding infrastructure is to be able to hire quality people, quickly; Max, another founder and CTO, showed me the importance of repetitive communication as a leader (my job is Chief Repeating Officer, in many ways).

What does a day in your life as CEO look like?

I think the key to a good day starts the night before.

• End the day with quick meditation.
• Wake up, coffee, and review my objectives and meetings for the day. I sanity check I'm spending time where I should be.
• Morning meeting with exec team: Review key metrics, in-flight projects and anything requiring a decision.
• Walk into team working session (e.g., Growth): Same agenda structure, but more focused
• Catch up on any emails or Slacks requiring my attention to unblock them.
• Eat (I usually skip breakfast — accidental intermittent fasting).
• Heads down time on a core objective I need to make progress on (example right now: Setting our managers in motion for Q1 planning).
• 1x1 with a direct report: We usually cover progress, people and problems.
• Another team working session (e.g., Product): Help them think through prioritization roadmap.
• More email and Slack offense and defense.
• Quick run to the gym or an evening soccer game (I'm a center mid).
• Dinner.
• Log back in around 8 or 9 and jam on anything urgent for tomorrow or make progress on a key objective (e.g., a key hire I'm trying to make).
• Bed time around midnight.