Kalshi Cofounder Luana Lopes Lara Profile: How a 25-Person Startup Beat the CFTC
kevinnbass · x · 2026-09-09
Sidedoors publishes a deep profile of Kalshi cofounder Luana Lopes Lara, built on interviews with early employees, investors, board members and her own recorded interviews.
- How a 25-person, zero-revenue startup survived two public failures and layoffs while retaining dozens of Citadel-alumni employees.
- Luana faced lawsuits in 19 states, cease-and-desists in a dozen more, and criminal wagering charges; her boldest move was suing Kalshi's own regulator, the CFTC — and winning in September 2024, staying "cool as a cucumber" while cofounder Tarek Mansour's hands shook on the phone with their litigator.
- Early investor Ali Partovi (Neo, also behind Cursor and Ramp) calls her the most optimistic person in the building — and her cofounder explains the cost of that optimism.
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