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Robbie Robinson spent nine years helping some of America's richest families protect their wealth before deciding to build a system that did the same for people who had never had access to one.
He came up through Goldman Sachs, then joined Byron Trott at BDT & Company as a founding partner in 2009, advising the kind of families whose names define American wealth. The Pritzkers. The Wrigleys. Names that do not need introduction in financial circles. Robinson learned how old money protects itself and how it grows. After leaving BDT, he moved into an even more private role as a personal financial adviser to Barack and Michelle Obama following their departure from the White House.
In 2019, he and his wife, D'Rita Robinson, launched Pendulum Holdings with a thesis that was straightforward but underserved: diverse founders were not getting capital, not because the talent was missing, but because the system was not looking for it. Pendulum attracted backing from Bank of America and BDT before its biggest move arrived in September 2024, when the firm merged with Jay-Z's Marcy Venture Partners to create MarcyPen Capital Partners. Robinson leads that entity today as CEO, overseeing more than $900 million in assets.
These are the businesses backed by Robbie Robinson.
1. MarcyPen Capital Partners
MarcyPen is Robinson's flagship. The firm was formed in September 2024 through the merger of Pendulum Holdings' investment arm and Marcy Venture Partners, the venture capital firm co-founded by Jay-Z, Jay Brown and Larry Marcus. Robinson serves as CEO of the combined entity, which oversees more than $900 million in assets and focuses on culture-driven consumer sectors including beauty, food, entertainment, technology and recommerce. The firm is actively raising its second fund, MarcyPen Opportunities Fund II, targeting $250 million, and had already secured more than $100 million as of late 2024, according to a filing with the SEC.
2. Pendulum Holdings
Robinson co-founded Pendulum Holdings in 2019 with his wife D'Rita, who serves as chief operating officer. The platform operates two arms: an investment division and Pendulum Partners, an advisory unit serving brand owners in sports and entertainment. While its investment operations have been folded into MarcyPen, Pendulum continues to function as the strategic and advisory layer underneath Robinson's wider empire. It was Pendulum that first attracted institutional backing and built the track record that made the MarcyPen merger possible.
3. Greenwood Bank
Robinson's firm led a $45 million funding round for Greenwood Bank in November 2022, making it one of Pendulum's highest-profile bets at the time. Greenwood is a digital banking platform designed for Black and Latino consumers and small businesses, offering checking accounts, savings products and financial literacy tools. Alongside the capital raise, Greenwood launched Elevate, a career and lifestyle membership product. The investment was consistent with Pendulum's thesis that culturally aligned financial infrastructure has been chronically underfunded.
4. GLD Shop
In July 2025, MarcyPen acquired a majority stake in GLD, the direct-to-consumer jewelry brand founded by Christian Johnston. The deal included participation from Brand Velocity Group and H.I.G. Growth Partners. Robinson described GLD as a brand that connects community with self-expression and accessibility, and the investment is intended to accelerate the company's move from digital-first into wholesale channels. It was among MarcyPen's first significant acquisitions after the 2024 merger was finalized.
5. Rebel
MarcyPen led a $25 million Series B round for Rebel in November 2025. The recommerce platform, founded by Emily Hosie and based across Toronto and New York, sells discounted goods at 40% to 70% off retail across baby, travel and home goods categories, and operates a 300,000-square-foot distribution warehouse in Kannapolis, North Carolina. Rebel reported 2,640% revenue growth over three years. MarcyPen had previously backed the company in its 2024 Series A alongside Serena Ventures.
6. Saltbox
Pendulum was among the investors in Saltbox's $35 million Series B in November 2022, joining Cox Enterprises and Playground Global. Saltbox provides shared warehousing and logistics infrastructure to small businesses and e-commerce sellers, solving a core operational gap for early-stage consumer brands. The investment mirrored Pendulum's broader strategy of backing infrastructure companies that serve the same class of diverse, founder-led businesses it advises.
