• Subscribe
  • Contact Us
  • About LendIt Fintech News
  • Home
  • Menu Item
  • Menu Item
  • Menu Item
  • Menu Item

Lend Academy

LendIt Fintech News: Daily Coverage of Fintech & Online Lending


  • Editorial
  • Daily News
  • Podcast
  • Investor Forum
  • Events

Ron Suber, Prosper President and Industry Legend, Stepping Down

After nearly five years on the leadership team at Prosper the Godfather of Fintech is moving on to a new chapter.

June 29, 2017 By Peter Renton 11 Comments

Views: 447

I first connected with Ron Suber back in 2011. He was a Lend Academy reader and an individual investor like myself, but more importantly we shared a common passion for the nascent marketplace lending industry. We used to email back and forth and have an occasional phone call to discuss our investments and what the industry needed to do to grow.

Then suddenly in late 2012 Ron stopped responding to my emails. In mid-January of 2013 I received a call from Ron with some big news. He apologized for being out of touch but he had been working on a big deal, the recapitalization of Prosper. Back then Prosper was really struggling and I was starting to worry about them. Founder and former CEO Chris Larsen had left the company a few months before and while there was an interim CEO, there seemed to be a real leadership vacuum at Prosper.

This was all about to change as Ron, along with his friends and business partners, Steve and Aaron Vermut, looked to take over the company. Together with Sequoia Capital and some of the existing investors, they injected new capital into Prosper and rebooted the company. The Vermuts and Ron invested their own personal money and became a three-person executive team leading Prosper into a new era.

At the time of the reboot Prosper was doing $9 million a month in new loans. The new executive team grew the business to over $400 million a month before the slowdown began in early 2016. Today, Prosper is growing again, albeit in a more measured way. Loan originations have grown consistently since July of 2016 and the company recently facilitated a successful $495 million securitization. And most important of all I have heard they will be cash flow positive in Q2.

The Godfather of Fintech

Since joining Prosper in early 2013 Ron has traveled to all corners of the globe sharing his passion for marketplace lending and how financial services is being reshaped today. He has given literally hundreds of presentations at various industry conferences including five keynotes in a row at LendIt. One of the things that always made Ron’s presentations interesting is that they were never advertisements for Prosper, they were his vision for the industry including both the challenges and opportunities for the future.

Along the way Ron has gathered the largest network by far of anyone in fintech. If you wanted an introduction to someone, whether it was a brand new entrepreneur, an investment banker, a VC, a hedge fund partner, or really anyone involved in fintech, Ron would almost always know them and oblige. Not only that but he would likely have had a recent contact and would know something new about them.

I still don’t know how he is able to maintain not just hundreds but literally thousands of relationships simultaneously. And then, despite how busy he always was, he would often say to me, “Peter, how can I help?” Therein lies the secret to his success. He was often looking to help, not in a self-serving way, but because he really wanted to be helpful. He wanted to help grow the industry.

Someone coined the term “The Godfather of Fintech” for Ron a few months back. While not a perfect moniker, it does reflect the importance of Ron to the fintech community.

The End of an Era

After nearly 5 years, Ron has decided it is time to move on from Prosper. He’s been part of two turnaround stories at the company – one in 2013, and more recently as we’ve seen Prosper grow its business following the challenging environment in 2016. It is great to see them back on track, and Ron told me that he is leaving Prosper in the hands of a great CEO and management team.

When Ron recently shared his plans with me he made it clear that he will still be involved with Prosper as a company advisor and “President Emeritus” but he will not be involved in the day-to-day activities.

Over the last several years, Ron has made 21 investments in various fintech companies and he is an advisor to several of these companies. So, he will continue to help grow the industry, he will just not be as visible as before. He is also interested in starting a new chapter of his life and possibly sharing his knowledge in a teaching capacity to a new generation of entrepreneurs. As Ron told me, he is calling this next phase of life “rewirement” not retirement. You can read more about his rewirement in the personal note from Ron that I have included below.

No one has done more to promote this industry over the past five years than Ron Suber. We all owe him a debt of gratitude for being the de facto industry spokesman. We really need someone to take the baton from Ron and continue sharing the gospel of fintech far and wide. I am not sure who that person will be, but Ron has left some pretty big shoes to fill.

I wish Ron all the best in his new endeavors. I feel honored to call him a friend and I look forward to seeing how the next chapter of his life unfolds.

Personal note from Ron Suber:

In 1985 Ronald Reagan was president of the United States, a gallon of gas cost a $1.20 and a dozen eggs cost $.80.

It has been 32 years since then and a lot has changed. Caryn and I got married and we have a grown son and daughter, both out in the world pursuing their lives and happiness.

In those same 32 years I have been a full-time employee/partner in six companies. It has been an amazing experience, a journey full of lessons (good and not so good) and lots of fun working with so many passionate people here in the United States and around the world. Now feels like the right time to begin a new personal journey. One not fully planned, but filled with exciting possibilities, new challenges and embraced uncertainty.

This isn’t just another, “I changed jobs” announcement, it’s a next phase of life with eyes wide open called “rewirement” not retirement.

I have recently transitioned to become a Senior Advisor/President Emeritus to Prosper where I will continue to work with and support the Prosper Team.

I will continue advising the boards and management teams of DocuSign, Credible, eOriginal, Money 360, Unison and Juvo.

Rewirement will include doing even more of the things I have enjoyed in the past – travel, teaching, learning, coaching/cultivating young entrepreneurs, being the investor/advisor that I enjoyed working with as an entrepreneur, exploring and spending time with you.

I look forward to catching up, trying new things, sharing what was, what is, and what we think can be. Chat soon.

Ron

Filed Under: Peer to Peer Lending Tagged With: Prosper, Ron Suber

Views: 447

Comments

  1. Edward Tedeschi says

    June 29, 2017 at 1:58 pm

    Ron is a financial industry “GEM”, well done my friend…well done!!!

    Enjoy your time, clear the mind and we look forward to the next chapter to be written upon your return.

    Reply
  2. Blake Coler-Dark says

    June 29, 2017 at 3:07 pm

    Legendary!

    Reply
  3. Rob L says

    June 29, 2017 at 4:27 pm

    I wish Ron the best in the future.

    On the other hand Ron was at the helm of Prosper when I lost my ability to liquidate my portfolio when they shut down Folio. Liquidity has a monetary value and I feel that was stolen from me by corporate fiat. Likely I’ll get stuck with very significant account charges by my IRA custodian on the way out the door as a parting gift.

    Then there’s that troublesome “software glitch” that assured Prosper investors when visiting their account web page that their annualized returns were perhaps double or even more than they actually were. Glad they finally cleared that one up after a year or so. I never ran a large company, only a small one, but for me and HST it was “the buck stops here”. That puts this one in Ron’s lap as well.

    Reply
    • tomp says

      June 30, 2017 at 10:37 am

      Agreed Rob….lot of investors were misled by Prospers returns. AND lots of people here trying to kiss to his butt because they want funding for ventures or exposure. It’s funny.

      Reply
  4. Bo Brustkern says

    June 29, 2017 at 7:29 pm

    Bravo, Ron! You had an amazing run, brought a ton of positive change, and made some difficult decisions along the way. It’s been great to partner with you and experience your growth. You have been a great spokesman for the industry — stay in touch & keep the faith!

    Reply
  5. Brett Crosby says

    June 30, 2017 at 12:24 am

    Congratulations Ron and thanks for paving the way for so many of us in the FinTech space. You spent your career as a uniter of our space, and in doing so built a tremendous legacy. We do indeed all owe you a debt of gratitude which is part the reason you will always be “the Mayor of FinTech Town” in my mind. Thank you for your hard work and helping lead the way and then passing along the playbook.

    Reply
  6. Leo Tyndall says

    July 2, 2017 at 2:56 pm

    Good luck for the future from Marketlend

    Reply
  7. Leighton says

    July 5, 2017 at 10:53 am

    Awesome testimonials and well deserved. Wishing you the best in the next life chapter.

    Reply
  8. Larry Baker says

    July 12, 2017 at 9:56 pm

    Congratulations Suberman!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Prosper President Ron Suber Stepping Down | SmallBusinessLending.io says:
    June 30, 2017 at 10:23 am

    […] After nearly five years on the leadership team at Prosper, Ron Suber will remain as a company adviser and “President Emeritus” but will not be involved in Prosper’s day-to-day activities. Suber was reportedly involved in two turnaround stories at the company – one in 2013, and more recently as Prosper has grown its business following a challenging 2016. [read more: Lend Academy] […]

    Reply
  2. Podcast 140: Ron Suber, the Godfather of Fintech - Lend Academy says:
    February 23, 2018 at 3:50 pm

    […] has been almost eight months since Ron Suber announced he was stepping down as President of Prosper. In that time he has kept very busy, still tirelessly […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Investor Intelligence

Peter Renton's Returns

Investor Forum

Lending Club Review

Prosper Review

Investor Resources

Most Popular Editorials

The Pure Marketplace Lending Model is Dead, the Hybrid Takes its Place

The 2018 Lending Club and Prosper Tax Guide

My Returns at Lending Club and Prosper

Map of Available States for Lending Club and Prosper Investors

Banks and Marketplace Lending Platforms: Ideal Partners?

Subscribe to the Podcast

Subscribe to the Lend Academy Podcast on iTunes
Subscribe to the Lend Academy Podcast
List of Podcast Episodes

Archives

Follow @LendAcademy Follow @LendIt

ABOUT LENDIT FINTECH NEWS

LendIt Fintech News, Powered by Lend Academy, has been bringing you all the news and information about fintech and online lending since 2010 when it was founded by Peter Renton. We not only have the industry’s most active news site, but also the largest investor forum and the first and most popular podcast.

We are a team of fintech enthusiasts who have been covering the industry for many years. With a deep knowledge of online lending, digital banking, blockchain, artificial intelligence and more our team covers the daily news and writes in-depth editorials.

Recent Editorials

  • Top 10 Fintech News Stories for the Week Ending March 6, 2021
  • Podcast 288: Leigh Phillips of SaverLife
  • The MLA and OLPI Merge to Form the American Fintech Council
  • Marcus Co-Founder Leaving for New Walmart Fintech Initiative
  • Top 10 Fintech News Stories for the Week Ending February 27, 2021

Copyright © 2021 · Metro Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in