Prosper Marketplace
Chris Larsen is Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Prosper.
For over a decade Chris Larsen has focused on using the Internet to make consumer lending more efficient, fair, honest, open, and trustworthy.
Prior to Prosper, Mr. Larsen co-founded and served as Chairman and CEO of E-LOAN. Under Mr. Larsen's leadership, E-LOAN closed over $27 billion in consumer loans, and was consistently ranked as one of the nation's most trusted consumer brands. E-LOAN earned consumers' trust by taking radically pro-consumer actions such as being the first company to provide consumers with access to their credit scores, and playing a critical role in the passage of the strongest consumer financial privacy protection law in the nation. Mr. Larsen led E-LOAN through a successful IPO in 1999, and oversaw the company's acquisition by Popular, Inc. in 2005.
Mr. Larsen holds an M.B.A. degree from Stanford University and a B.S. degree from San Francisco State University, where he was named the 2004 Alumnus of the Year.
Related Links: www.prosper.com
Last Updated: Wed, Dec 6, 2006
| Category | Title | Author/Speaker | Organization | Length | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Podcast | "Founding Prosper, a People-to-People Lending Marketplace" | Chris Larsen · Jim Breyer | Prosper | 55:43 | 10/2006 |
| Video | The Emotional Roller Coaster | Jim Breyer · Chris Larsen | Prosper | 02:33 | 12/2006 |
| Video | Defensibility Through Regulatory Constraints | Chris Larsen · Jim Breyer | Prosper | 03:49 | 12/2006 |
| Video | Importance of Building a Strong Culture | Jim Breyer · Chris Larsen | Prosper | 01:34 | 12/2006 |
| Video | Managing the Burn Rate | Chris Larsen · Jim Breyer | Prosper | 04:56 | 12/2006 |
| Video | Career Advice for Students about Entrepreneurship | Jim Breyer · Chris Larsen | Prosper | 02:05 | 12/2006 |
Jim Breyer, a partner at Accel Investments, interviews Chris Larsen, the founder and CEO of Prosper - America's first people-to-people lending marketplace. Ranging from regulation to global financial markets, Larsen shares a wide variety of experiences in founding both e-Loan.com and Prosper.
Chris Larsen, a veteran entrepreneur, CEO and co-founder of Prosper.com shares the ups and downs he faced during the first year and a half of starting Prosper.com. He stresses the importance of being empathetic while also staying focused on the task at hand.
Larsen and Jim Breyer, Managing Partner at Accel Partners, stress the value of having approval in a regulated industry. This provides an excellent barrier to entry and is very attractive to VCs. Larsen draws on his experience from E-Loan and Prosper in suggesting that while it is cumbersome, if an idea is in the interest of the consumer, it is not difficult to obtain approval.
Larsen stresses the importance of having a strong positive culture. He believes that the consumer advocacy culture at E-Loan motivated employees even when the stock prices plummeted.
Larsen and Breyer explain the lessons learned during the bubble. They suggest that it is important to spend frugally and get the maximum value for every dollar spent, regardless of the amount of money present in the bank.
Larsen and Breyer provide career advice to students. The most important thing is to be passionate about what you do, they say. They also suggest that the current economic environment is perfect for fresh graduates to take risks and follow their dreams.