Chris Larsen is the chairman and founder of E-loan

E-Loan

E-Loan, Inc. is a Rosemont, Illinois-based financial services company that offers savings accounts and certificates of deposit and access to partners that may be able to assist customers in obtaining loans....

 and the co-founder of Prosper Marketplace. Larsen received a B.S. degree from San Francisco State University

San Francisco State University

San Francisco State University is a public university located in San Francisco, California. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers over 100 areas of study from nine academic colleges...

 and a M.B.A. from Stanford University

Stanford University

The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...

. In 1996 Larsen founded the Palo Alto Funding Group which later became E-Loan in 1996. In 2006 Larsen founded Prosper.com, an online auction site that allows users to lend money or borrow it from other users.