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Jenny Just
Jenny Just
Cofounder, Peak6
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Michigan Ross Commencement 2026 Guest Speaker: Jenny Just

📅 May 07, 2026 Ross School of Business 18 MIN 33 VIEWS 11 SEGMENTS · 2 SPEAKERS
Jenny Just, BBA ’90, is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of PEAK6 Investments, a diversified financial services and technology firm she co-founded in 1997. For nearly three decades, she has founded, scaled, and led businesses across proprietary trading, fintech, insurance, esports, and financial education. In addition to her investment and operating work, Just is focused on expanding access to financial capability and leadership opportunities, particularly for women. In 2020, she co-founded Poker Power with her daughter, Juliette, using poker as a tool to build strategic thinking, risk intelli...

What Jenny Just said

Written from the verified transcript and checked against it. Every figure links to the moment it was said.

Jenny Just, cofounder of Peak6, told Michigan Ross graduates that her success came from a 'no plan plan' of hard work, curiosity, and calculated risk-taking rather than a grand strategy. She described starting as an options trader at the Chicago Board Options Exchange, learning from the 1992 Chicago flood, and taking on varied roles that compounded like interest. After co-founding Peak6 in 1997 with $1.6 million, she credited a Wendy's-inspired team model for generating over $4 billion in profits and avoiding a losing year in 29 years. She recounted passing on Tesla and investing in Fisker, which failed, but later embracing fintech by acquiring a custodian in 2012, which became Apex Fintech Solutions, now serving over 220 companies and 40 million customers. She also built Robinhood's backend in exchange for equity, emphasizing that practice and trusting a compass, not a plan, guided her decisions.

Key takeaways

  1. Peak6 has never had a losing year in 29 years, generating over $4 billion in profits from a Wendy's-inspired team trading model.
  2. Apex Fintech Solutions, acquired in 2012, now serves over 220 companies and 40 million end customers, including SoFi, Ally, Public, Stash, and Webull.
  3. Just passed on investing in Tesla in 2008, choosing Fisker instead, which failed due to cars catching fire.
  4. Peak6 built Robinhood's backend in exchange for equity, despite Robinhood having no money to pay.

Numbers and commitments

FigureWhat it refers toTypeAt
$1.6 million Initial capital raised for Peak6 in 1997 metric 7:10
$4 billion Profits generated from Wendy's-inspired team trading model metric 9:13
29 years Years Peak6 has operated without a losing year metric 9:13
$70 million Amount required to take over custodian in 2012 commitment 13:16
220 companies Companies on Apex Fintech Solutions platform metric 13:16
40 million End customers served by Apex Fintech Solutions metric 13:16
1997 Year Peak6 was founded timeline 7:10
2012 Year Apex Fintech Solutions was acquired timeline 13:16

Chapters

  1. 0:00Introduction and 1990 headlines
  2. 2:57Early career and Chicago flood
  3. 4:32Building skills and no plan plan
  4. 7:10Founding Peak6 and Wendy's model
  5. 11:08Failures and lessons from Fisker and Tesla
  6. 13:16Apex Fintech Solutions acquisition
  7. 15:14Robinhood partnership and practice
  8. 17:13Closing advice to graduates
Sharon 0:00 ↗
It is now my great pleasure to introduce our keynote speaker. When I considered who to invite to be our keynote commencement speaker, I look for someone who is a role model for the type of leaders we're trying to aspire to at Ross. A person who not only has a successful career, but who also continues to make a positive and profound impact on the world and society at large. We're so fortunate that Jenny Just, a proud Michigan Ross 1990 BBA alumni, is joining us this afternoon to celebrate this milestone. She is the co-founder and managing partner of Peak6 Investments, a proprietary options trading firm, which has grown into a multi-billion dollar financial services and technology giant. From her days on the trading floor in Chicago to now running a fintech empire, Jenny has proven herself to be a visionary entrepreneur, investor, business leader, and industry disruptor. For nearly three decades, she has founded, scaled, and led businesses across proprietary trading, fintech, insurance, esports, financial education, and she happens to be passionate about poker. Yes, you heard it right. Along with her daughter Juliet, she founded an initiative in 2020 which uses poker as a tool to build essential strategic thinking, calculated risk-taking, and decision-making skills. She's truly an inspiration to all who meet her and one of the most accomplished people I know. Please join me in giving Jenny a warm Michigan welcome.

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APA, MLA, BibTeX
APA

Just, J. (2026, May 7). Michigan Ross Commencement 2026 Guest Speaker: Jenny Just [Interview transcript]. Ross School of Business. CEOInterviews.AI. https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/891276/

MLA

Jenny Just. "Michigan Ross Commencement 2026 Guest Speaker: Jenny Just." Ross School of Business, 7 May. 2026. Transcript, CEOInterviews.AI, https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/891276/.

BibTeX 
@misc{just2026_891276,
  author       = {Jenny Just},
  title        = {Michigan Ross Commencement 2026 Guest Speaker: Jenny Just},
  howpublished = {Interview transcript, Ross School of Business. CEOInterviews.AI},
  year         = {2026},
  month        = {may},
  url          = {https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/891276/},
  note         = {Speaker-attributed transcript with timestamps}
}