The Dreamers… that’s how Ulupreneur Charlie Olson describes the perfect clients for Pando, the company he and co-founder Eric Lax created in 2017. When they originally started Pando, the idea was to help professional athletes and founders pool their earnings, so if their dreams didn’t come true on the field, they would have a financial base to fall back on.
Eight years later, it has evolved into what he says is a “Basecamp” of products and services for those who boldly pursue risky careers. Their flagship product is still income pooling, where they help groups manage and mitigate boom-and-bust financial volatility with diversification and risk mitigation by building a portfolio-like approach to their financial outcome … but it has grown to focus on helping their clients succeed, not just providing security in case they do not.
When we spoke to Charlie recently, he described more than 900 clients in pools expected to earn more than $11B. We also interviewed Charlie via video about Pando’s journey and what it’s like working with Ulu.
How would you best describe Pando’s mission now?
Pando is a company built for the dreamers. We are building what we think of as Basecamp – products and services for those who embrace career risk. Our flagship product is called income pooling: the idea is to help groups manage and mitigate boom-or-bust financial volatility, which exists for pro athletes, entrepreneurs and many others. We started as a single product company but are evolving into much more.
We noticed how much pooled clients came to value the support of their peers. Pools began organizing monthly meetings, providing not just financial security but real emotional and tactical help — reducing loneliness, improving decision-making and expanding their networks.
So we launched Founder Peer Groups — highly curated groups of 5-8 founders, who meet monthly with a professional facilitator. Pando clients have consistently outperformed and their pooled clients get to share in their peers’ success.
What’s your advice to entrepreneurs raising money?
When I was first looking to raise money, I was given advice that didn’t work as well for us. I was told to create a ton of fundraising structure, creating boundary conditions, and a streamlined three- or four-week fundraise ― the idea was to create as much pressure as humanly possible. Over eight years, that has been the opposite of what I’ve done.
Choosing investors is critically important, and you better make sure visions align; this is not dating, it’s a marriage.”
And so what I’ve tried to do is build relationships prior to working with a particular venture firm or partner. Often that’s easier said than done, as you need to exist for long enough for those years’ worth of relationships to make sense. But I’ve seen it bear fruit: I have committed investors who I know share my vision for the future and have had my back.
Any advice to founders who make the tough decision to pivot their business?
Changing a business model, shutting down a product or moving on from a prior vision, is one of the hardest things a founder has to go through. Over time, you’ll figure out whether or not you have sufficient product–market fit, and if you do, there’s a tendency to think that you’re on the right track. If (when) you have to then switch tracks, it’s incredibly hard. Often, founders feel as if their company is an extension of themselves, that change is failure or a reflection on the founder and have a tough time letting go.
But having the intellectual honesty to look at yourself in the mirror, the company in the mirror — to understand how conditions are changing and understand that you may have to change to reach your ambitions — is one of the most courageous and scary things you might have to do.”
What have been your recent milestones?
We’ve now built more than 150 pools. We work with clients who are collectively expected to earn over $11 billion while in income pools with us. We expect more than $400 million to flow through those pools. The income pooling business is working, and that’s exciting. Another milestone is launching a second product, a founder peer group product. You can think about it like YPO, but hyperfocused for founders; we expect to reach profitability in 2026.
What are your dreams for Pando?
I think one of the holes in the financial services ecosystem is the lack of support for those who are high-potential but not yet financially liquid. The dreamers are courageous – they leap into the unknown, push the boundaries, take the risk. I want Pando to be known as the place that has the dreamers’ backs, whether it’s the entrepreneur or the first round draft pick or the creator. I want Pando to be the place where they know we unequivocally have their back, in part because we’re motivated to win as they succeed.
