Jenny Just, BBA '90 — Co-Founder and Managing Partner of PEAK6 Investments
On this episode of the Down to Business podcast, Sharon Matusik, Edward J. Frey Dean of the Ross School of Business, sits down with Jenny Just, co-founder and managing partner of PEAK6 Investments, to discuss her career trajectory. For the majority of the podcast, Matusik and Just discuss developments in the financial technology sphere, such as fractional sharing and adapting to artificial intelligence, and supporting women in business through Poker Power and the Women’s Trading Experience.
Changes in the financial technology industry
Just discusses the exciting changes she sees on the horizon in the financial tech space, which she hopes will make investing more accessible to the public, especially to women and other groups of people who have been less exposed to the industry.
She highlights a stock reward system similar to a point system. Instead of receiving points for future purchases, customers would receive fractional shares, creating a personal portfolio for investing in companies they support.
“It’s all about the democratization of finance. How do we get the masses thinking about investing because it’s so important to building wealth…I think [stock rewards/fractional shares] is going to be an incredible opportunity for Wall Street to come to Main Street in a really tangible way. Oftentimes, we talk about skiing — you read about skiing in a book, and it’s not the same thing, right? You have to get out there and do it. And we need people to experience buying and selling a stock.”
In bringing investment into spaces where a new audience can interact with it, building wealth becomes increasingly accessible for everyone.
Paving the way for women in the trading world through poker
When her daughter was fourteen, Just gathered a group of ten girls and their moms to learn the game of poker. The growth in strategy and confidence she saw around that table was so moving that it inspired Just to create Poker Power, an organization that fosters the growth of critical decision-making and negotiation skills in women and other marginalized groups by teaching them poker.
“Poker’s been around for hundreds of years – our presidents, our tech leaders, our heads of law firms, countless people use this game, and for me, the three most important skills it can teach you are how to take risk, strategy, and capital allocation.”
Poker Power sessions have now been held at over 300 companies and organizations in 60 countries.
The power of taking risks
To close the conversation Just explores the importance of knowing oneself as a risk taker and how to balance saying yes and no to opportunities that may or may not aid future careers.
Want to hear more from Ross students, faculty, and alumni?
Check out more of our podcasts.
Business Beyond Usual: Full-time MBA students at Michigan Ross tackle burning issues on campus and the world beyond. In every episode, the student hosts discuss a topic of importance for current and prospective students through interviews with current students, alumni, faculty, and administrators.
Business + Society: Michigan Ross professors discuss the business world and how it impacts our society. Each episode features a panel of featured experts addressing a current issue or problem facing our world.
Working for the Weekend: A deep dive into the daily life of part-time MBAs at Michigan Ross. Weekend and online MBA students discuss their experiences and advice for prospective and current students.
About the participants
- Host: Sharon Matusik
- Guests: Jenny Just
- Executive Producer: JT Godfrey
- Audio Engineer: Jonah Brockman
- Editorial Production: Mads Henke
