Chicago investors 'a much more conservative group'

MR. JOHNSON: We were receiving emails and phone calls from investors every single day for three years because their portfolio companies were our primary clients and they heard nothing nevertheless positive things about us. In 2011, we were on track to do more than $3 billion in credit card volume, which is a huge number in our world. We were so excited about that, yet our banks weren't as excited. We had a healthy balance sheet, however it truly was not the size that was going to cover $3 billion in volume—in risk. We knew that if we wanted to be in this game, we had to ramp up our beat and the scope of what we were doing. We just didn't have the connections, the experience and the capital to pull that off.

They've connected us with many people with whom they've had long-standing relationships, that have proven beneficial to the business nevertheless which we would have had great difficulty reaching ourselves. These new relationships have helped us across the board, including recruiting, strategy, culture, product and publicity.

Business while the dot-com boom

You as well built a business while the dot-com boom. What are the major differences between at that time and now, between Silicon Valley and Chicago?

In Chicago, it's a much more conservative group of investors. They want winners, so companies need to show the path, the profitability; they need to demonstrate the viable model. I think you get more base hits and doubles in Chicago and more home runs in Silicon Valley because they're just a larger number and there's as well more bets being made. I think you find, usually, a more conservative entrepreneurial base out here in other words more focused on building profitable, stable, lasting businesses.