Trade Republic has raised about 2.7bn dollars across its rounds, with Sequoia investing at a 5bn valuation in later funding.
Julian Collin says Trade Republic's average customer holds about 15,000 euros, far above the under 1,000 euros at Revolut, while trading less than Robinhood customers.
Trade Republic runs a Brad Pitt campaign with no spoken lines because it wants viewers to talk about the ad, after it found TV converts worse than influencers.
How Trade Republic built a profitable broker for Europe's savers
Trade Republic has become a profitable mass-market broker by betting that Europeans must save for their own pensions. Its customers hold far more and trade less than those of Revolut or Robinhood, and 2027 pension reforms should widen that market. Collin argues the company wins by building customers and brand organically rather than buying them.
Takeaways
Trade Republic is large, profitable and recognised. The company counts more than 10m customers and over 150bn in assets. It has been profitable for three and a half years and reaches about 60 percent brand awareness among Germans aged 18 to 65.
Its customers hold more and trade less. Collin says the average customer holds about 15,000 euros, against under 1,000 euros at Revolut. Customers hold twice the average assets of Robinhood users while trading less crypto and fewer derivatives. Only 10 to 20 percent of Europeans invest at all.
Pension reforms in 2027 drive the next wave. Creandum's original thesis rested on the pension gap. Collin points to 2027 reforms such as Germany's Altersvorsorgedepot and Poland's OKI. Austria's children's depot gives every child 500 euros and allows tax-free investing up to 5,000 euros a year.
Building customers is cheaper than buying brokers. Trade Republic has never made an acquisition. Brokers such as DEGIRO and Avanza acquire customers for about 200 euros each, while buying a broker would cost 500 to 1,000 euros per customer.
Regulation shapes expansion more than competition. Across 18 markets, with Poland as the first outside the euro, Collin uses a Margin Call framing of how markets are won. Revolut won by moving first and N26 did not. New markets start with a small influencer-built fanbase, since TV converts poorly.
Promote insiders over imported Silicon Valley seniors. Senior operators hired from large US tech companies left within 12 to 18 months, so Trade Republic now promotes internally. Collin says experience matters in compliance and legal, but less in product and growth, where channels have changed.
How the Brad Pitt campaign was built
The ads are designed not to feel like ads. Pitt says nothing on screen, so viewers talk about the spot and why he stays silent.
Awareness needs repeated, consistent exposure, but attention is scarce. After a 20-minute ad break, viewers might recall only two or three spots.
Pitt was chosen after testing 20 to 30 stars because about 90 percent of people recognise him from a picture alone. The voiceover came from 40 to 50 auditions.
The team learned about five weeks ahead, in early December, and spent Christmas and New Year on scripts. Collin flew from a minus 20 degree husky tour in Norway to Los Angeles.
Tap a name to go there · tap a line to see why they are linked
On this episode 2
Show 1
The Hollywood shoot ran three days with a body double and 10 to 12 hours of filming with Pitt. Four scenes were shot, and one has been released.