Eric Olson And His New Day Job At TransFS

Eric Olson is probably best known to the public at large as a co-founder of the TECH Cocktail networking event and business conference.  Until recently, Olson’s day job was as an Associate at DFJ Portage Venture Partners.  Now he’s the CMO and co-founder at TransFS (Transparent Financial Services).  We caught up with Olson to find out about his job switch and latest start-up.

Chicago Tech News: Tell us a little about what TransFS does.

Eric Olson: TransFS (TransFS.com) allows small and medium sized businesses to create reverse auctions for financial services they need.  The reverse auctions allow service providers to bid for the business’ business and that typically results in a much better rate than the business could have received by working with one provider. We also provide an “apples to apples” comparison for each bid the business receives so they can make sure they are getting the best deal for their business.  We already have the site up and running for credit card processing services (i.e. merchant acceptance accounts) and we will roll out more financial services down the road.

CTN: The website lists you as a co-founder, and the first press release was issued in December of 2007.  How long have you been involved with TransFS?

EO: I have known the Co-Founder and CEO, Sean Harper, for quite a while.  Sean was working on TransFS as a side project for quite a while and last year brought on Josh Krall (co-founder and CTO) in a roughly part time capacity while both of them worked to finish their MBAs.  When Sean and Josh finished their MBAs at the University of Chicago they decided it was time to ramp up TransFS and work on it full time.  They then decided that they wanted a third co-founder to jump in with them to focus marketing, business development and other various functions. They looked at me as a guy who could fill the role nicely given my marketing and BD background along with my knowledge of financial services.

CTN: What made you decide it was time to leave DJF Portage?

EO: I think I always knew I would end up back on the entrepreneurial side of things again and this opportunity was the perfect one for me.  I know the space, Josh and Sean are amazingly talented guys that I love working with and TransFS allows me to build a great business while helping many other business owners and entrepreneurs.  Who could ask for more than that?

That said, my time at DFJ was fantastic and I will hopefully end up in venture again someday down the road. Regarding Ed Chandler and Matt McCall: they continue to be enthusiastic supporters of me and my career and both of them are mentors of mine. I am very lucky to have guys of their calibur supporting me in my endeavors.

CTN: How is TransFS funded?

EO: TransFS is self-funded right now.

CTN: What platform is your site built on?

EO: Ruby on rails.

CTN: At first glance, TransFS seems only tangentially connected to the tech world, more rooted in finance and banking.  Is this a new direction for you?

EO: Not really.  I did my undergraduate work in finance and information systems so this is really a combination of things I have always loved.  I tend to like working on businesses that take technology and apply it to solve business problems.  For example, FeedBurner was a company like this.  Some people tend to regard FeedBurner as a consumer internet play but we were really a tool for publishers that helped publishers to understand feeds, which they couldn’t do without us.  Similarly, TransFS is using technology to create transparency in the opaque world of small and medium business financial services and to save companies a lot of money in the process while also providing service providers with new customers.

CTN: You’ve twice held positions with established companies (three times if you don’t look at your Google stay as post-sale transition) and twice left them for start-ups.  This is not counting starting TECH Cocktail.  You’re leaving relative stability in a fairly shaky economic climate.  What’s the appeal of start-ups to you?

EO: Start-ups are appealing to me because they allow me to create.  I prefer working in climates (start-ups and otherwise) where I can work on building something from nothing and then that something helps solve a big problem for certain set of people. I would also suggest that working in a large business isn’t necessarily any more or less risky than a start-up as evidenced by the massive layoffs we have seen over the last 12 – 18 months.

CTN: Now that you’re no longer currently a venture capitalist, will we see the return of your “The Wannabe Venture Capitalist” blog?

EO: I don’t think so.  Now I have been a VC so I don’t think that title would work.  I think Olson’s Observations (ericjohnolson.com/blog) will be the title of my blog for years to come.