In the Fall semester, the seminar takes place on Wednesdays 6:10 pm — 7:25 pm.
Location: Mathematics Building, Room 207
For directions, please see Directions to Campus and Directions to Mathematics Building (Morningside Campus Map).
Organizer: Jaehyuk Choi
upcoming Schedule of Presentations
View the Schedule of Past Presentations.
Wednesday, September 9, 2026
Title: From HFT to Fintech: Lessons in Entrepreneurship & Risk-Taking in Finance
Speaker: Christina Qi, Databento
Christina Qi is the Co-Founder and CEO of Databento, a financial data platform serving thousands of institutions worldwide. Prior to Databento, she co-founded Domeyard LP, a hedge fund focused on high-frequency trading, which grew to trade billions of dollars per day across global markets before winding down after a decade of service. Christina is a board member of her alma mater MIT, WGBH (National Public Radio/PBS), and a visiting lecturer at several universities. She graduated from MIT in 2013 and lives in Utah with 10 chickens, 2 turtles, and a 15-year-old dog. She enjoys listening to classical piano music, watching anime, and playing rhythm games.
Abstract:
What does it take to launch your own venture in finance – and is it worth the risk? In this talk, Christina Qi will walk through her unconventional journey from co-founding Domeyard LP, a high-frequency trading hedge fund, to starting Databento, a provider of real-time and historical market data. Drawing from personal experiences, Christina will candidly discuss the highs and lows of entrepreneurship in finance – from raising capital and hiring a team, to the day-to-day differences (& differing career trajectories) between having an alpha-chasing job vs. a product-oriented job. She’ll also share lessons learned from failure, insights into compensation and risk trade-offs, whether location matters or not, and how to identify and validate an idea worth building. This session will provide students with a grounded, realistic view of what it means to forge your own path – and why sometimes, the biggest leaps of faith can lead to the most valuable growth.
Wednesday, September 16, 2026
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Wednesday, September 23, 2026
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Wednesday, September 30, 2026
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Wednesday, October 7, 2026
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Wednesday, October 14, 2026
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Wednesday, October 21, 2026
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Wednesday, October 28, 2026
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Wednesday, November 4, 2026
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Wednesday, November 11, 2026
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Wednesday, November 18, 2026
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Wednesday, November 25, 2026 – no classes
Wednesday, December 9, 2026
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Past Presentations