About
Jordi Hays has sold two companies in under three years. He co-founded Party Round in 2021 with his wife Sarah Chase — a viral fundraising tool for early-stage startups that raised roughly $7M on its own product, rebranded as Capital in 2022 and sold to Rho in August 2023, work that put both founders on the Forbes 30 Under 30 finance list. In October 2024 he started TBPN with John Coogan, and OpenAI acquired the daily tech talk show in April 2026 in its first media deal. He also founded the YouTube ad agency Branded Native in 2018 and co-founded the water-filtration brand Rorra in 2024. He studied global studies and technology at UC Santa Barbara and angel invests from Los Angeles.
Beyond investing
- Founded
- Co-founded TBPN with John Coogan in October 2024 and co-hosts the three-hour weekday live show from Los Angeles. Co-founded Party Round in 2021 with Sarah Chase, a tool that let startups collect small checks from friends, angels and customers without lawyers; it raised about $7M — on its own product — from the Seven Six Fund, a16z's Anish Acharya and Shrug Capital. Founded Branded Native in 2018, a YouTube and podcast advertising company. Co-founded Rorra in 2024 with Brian Keller and Charlie Carlisle, a countertop and whole-home water-filtration brand named after the founders' children.
- Awards
- Named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for finance in 2023, alongside co-founder Sarah Chase.
- Family
- Built Party Round and Capital with his wife, Sarah Chase Hays.
- More
- OpenAI acquired TBPN on April 2, 2026. In the announcement he said the year of covering the industry in real time had made him want to move from commentary to affecting how the technology is distributed and understood. Renamed Party Round to Capital in 2022 and broadened it into a full-stack startup finance platform with business checking and a debit card; Rho acquired the company in August 2023. Studied global studies and technology at UC Santa Barbara from 2014 to 2018.
Mentioned above: the UC Santa Barbara mafia →
From Jordi's own website — common ground for a warm intro.
Co-Founder & Host at TBPN
Co-founders at TBPN
Co-Founder & Board Member at Rorra
Intro paths
In turn, Jordi can intro founders to Rorra's investors below.
Experience
- TBPNCo-Foundercurrent2024 — present
- RorraCo-Founder & Board Membercurrent2024 — present
- InvestorInvestorcurrent2021 — present
- CapitalCo-Founder & CEOcurrent2021 — present
- Branded NativeFoundercurrent2018 — present
Education
- UC Santa BarbaraGlobal Studies & Technology2014 — 2018
Podcasts & interviews
featuring Jordi HaysTBPN's John Coogan & Jordi Hays & Axios' Eleanor Hawkins
Axios
Inside Tech's Water Cooler: Breaking Down the Magic Behind TBPN with John Coogan & Jordi Hays
Dialectic Podcast with Jackson Dahl
Frequently asked questions
- Where does Jordi Hays work?
- Jordi Hays is Co-Founder & Host at TBPN and Co-Founder & Board Member at Rorra.
- What companies did Jordi Hays found?
- Jordi Hays founded Rorra, TBPN.
Founder mafias
UC Santa Barbara mafia59
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
+ 52 more
Investor mafia9
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
+ 2 more
TBPN mafia2
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Same school
Also attended UC Santa Barbara224
+ 218 more
