Face(book)-to-Face(cash) with Aaron Greenspan
Each Wednesday, PYMNTS.com profiles a different top executive from the leading companies in payment innovation.
Name: Aaron Greenspan
Title: President & CEO
Company: FaceCash
What I’m working on now... I'm working on ThinkLink, the first integrated payment and accounting system, including FaceCash, a mobile payment system.
My crowning achievement is...I wrote a book, "Authoritas: One Student's Harvard Admissions and the Founding of the Facebook Era".
Industry Association Awards...None (we're pretty new to the industry), though I won the Junior Achievement Young IT Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 1999, for whatever that's worth! (Keep in mind, the stock market crashed right after I won the award, so probably not much.)
Education…Harvard College
When I’m not working, I like to…Hang out with friends, go running or biking around Stanford University's campus, read, and watch the occasional movie.
My favorite payment factor is…FaceCash, of course!
I think the next big thing in payments is…integration. Of course, I think that the next big thing in anything is integration. It's a lot different than aggregation, which most people don't realize.
Cash is…much better-looking in other countries where they add some color to the bills. Here in the U.S. I think it's a little bit boring. Some reds and yellows would be nice. Blues and purples are good, too.
Checks are…the subject of a great movie with Leonadro DiCaprio!
NFC will…still not available in any of the SDKs we're using from the major phone manufacturers, so it's kind of irrelevant to us right now. Maybe one day...
EMV is…Elephants Moving Vehicles? I honestly have no idea.
P2P is…built into FaceCash with no fees. I just paid my rent with it. (My landlord was nice enough to sign up.)
I’ve learned from my mentor…I've been on my own for a while. You could say I've learned a bit from lacking a mentor, though.
Bio: Think Computer Corporation was formed in 1998 when Aaron Greenspan began offering IT consulting services from his bedroom in Shaker Heights, Ohio. With demand high due to the dot-com boom, he quickly found it necessary to hire a few of his fellow classmates. Upon graduating from high school, Aaron changed the focus of the company from consulting to software development. Today, Think operates the ThinkLink integrated payment and accounting network, the most advanced product of its kind.
In 1999, Aaron was the first place winner of the Junior Achievement Young IT Entrepreneur of the Year Award. He was also awarded the Kodak Young Leaders award, and has spoken at various venues including the NASA Kennedy Space Center. In October of 2000, Aaron spearheaded the creation of Think Computer Foundation, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization with the goal of helping children through technology. While attending Harvard College, Aaron created a web site in September, 2003 called "The Universal Face Book," also referred to as "The Facebook," inspiring the separate creation of Facebook, Inc. In 2008, he documented the tale in his book Authoritas: One Student's Harvard Admissions and the Founding of the Facebook Era.
Through the Advanced Standing program, Aaron graduated cum laude from Harvard College in three years with an A.B. in Economics in 2004. He writes on occasion for The Huffington Post.
PYMNTS Innovators
TaxiPass: Cards Will Control Where Cash Was King
Cash, Check or Text: Mobile Payments for the other 97%
Checks are Checking Out - Will that be Cash, Credit or Mobile?
Acculynk: Creating a Customized Consumer Checkout
Can Two Truly Tango in the Payments Industry?
E-payments: Skyline's Plans to Transform
TSYS' New Offering and the Innovator Behind
Biometrics and Magstripes: Making Beautiful Payments Together
Post your comment
Comments
whichever beneficial precious metals the particular <strong><a href="http://www.nikefree-oslo.eu/nikeshoxkvinnernikeshoxnz-c-37_38.html" title="Nike shox Norge">Nike shox Norge</a></strong> local car <strong><a
Posted by nike free run, 18/05/2012 2:51am (6 days ago)
I have created a new electronic services corporation that -- provides an alternative or supplements a bank account or credit card. My new card has 13 new electronic services. We do NOT provide banking services we provice electronic services.. Perhaps we can talk and explore. Craig
Posted by Craig Davis, 23/06/2010 3:41pm (2 years ago)
RSS feed for comments on this page | RSS feed for all comments