Kristi Ross is Co-Owner and Founder of U3 Coffee, which she launched in 2022 after more than 30 years in fintech and trading. That career spanned more than 40 mergers, acquisitions, capital raises and startups. U3 Coffee’s mission is to unite the world through coffee. It connects farmers, coffee entrepreneurs and customers by sharing their stories and the numbers behind each cup.
Before coffee, Kristi co-founded tastytrade in 2011. Within ten years, the team built seven companies inside the company, including the online brokerage tastyworks. In 2021, Kristi led and orchestrated tastytrade’s sale to IG Group for more than $1 billion. She was Co-CEO and President at the time. She also co-hosted Bootstrapping in America, where she interviewed more than 1,000 entrepreneurs. Earlier, as CFO of thinkorswim Group, she led its $750 million acquisition by TD Ameritrade in 2009.
Kristi has been named an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year. She has also been recognized on Crain’s Chicago Tech 50, Innovate Finance’s Global Women in Fintech Powerlist and the Chicago Business Journal’s Women of Influence list. She serves as an independent board member for companies in banking, trading, technology, AI and finance. She has held leadership roles with P33, 1871 and World Business Chicago’s ChicagoNEXT Fintech Council.
Kristi is also an active angel investor. She is passionate about empowering entrepreneurs, financial literacy and giving back. That includes U3 Coffee’s BE THE GOOD program, which supports the families and children of migrant coffee farmers.
