# Charlie Olson

> Charlie Olson is the Co-Founder and CEO of Pando, a San Francisco-based fintech platform that lets high-potential professionals — founders, athletes, and ambitious earners — pool their career income risk. Launched in 2017 after Charlie and co-founder Eric Lax graduated from Stanford GSB, Pando has grown to serve 900+ clients in pools expected to collectively earn over $11 billion. The company has raised $13.8M total funding including an $8M Series A led by Core Innovation Capital in 2020. Charlie was named to Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2019 and previously worked in private equity and policy. Pando's model — participants contribute 1-8% of earnings above a ~$1M hurdle rate to a shared pool — draws on ideas from income-sharing agreements and mutual insurance, reimagined for the winner-take-all talent economy.

- **Role:** Co-Founder & CEO at Pando
- **Organizations:** Pando, Stanford Graduate School of Business, Cheyenne Capital, KAMMOK, Futaleufu Partners
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** B.A. International Relations, Stanford University, M.A. US History, Stanford University, MBA, Stanford Graduate School of Business
- **Known for:** Forbes 30 Under 30 (2019), Grew Pando to 900+ clients with $11B+ projected earnings in pools, $360M projected pool cash flows generated for clients

## Career timeline

- **pre-2015** — Speechwriting and policy analysis for two US governors
- **2015-2017** — Private equity work at Cheyenne Capital under Bob Grady; search fund investing experience
- **2017** — Co-founded Pando with Eric Lax after graduating from Stanford GSB
- **2017** — Named to Forbes 30 Under 30
- **2017** — Raised $3.3M seed round from Ulu Ventures, Pear VC, Avalon Ventures, Stanford StartX Fund
- **2020** — Raised $8M Series A led by Core Innovation Capital; expanded from athletes to entrepreneurs
- **2020** — Pando had 385 pro baseball players registered with estimated $600M+ lifetime earnings
- **2023** — Raised additional $2.7M Series A extension (December 2023)
- **2024-2025** — Launched 'Honest Founder Dialogues' peer groups for Seed to Series B founders
- **2025** — Pando surpasses 900 clients in pools projected to earn $11B+

## Achievements

- Forbes 30 Under 30 (2019)
- Grew Pando to 900+ clients with $11B+ projected earnings in pools
- $360M projected pool cash flows generated for clients
- Raised $13.8M total funding from Core Innovation Capital, Pear VC, Ulu Ventures, and others
- Pioneered the income pooling model for high-potential professionals
- Expanded Pando from professional baseball players to a broad founder and entrepreneur community
- Built a 35-person team scaling toward profitability in 2026

## Latest updates

- **2025-01** — Pando surpasses 900 clients in income pools expected to collectively earn $11B+
- **2024-06** — Launched 'Honest Founder Dialogues' peer group series for Seed to Series B founders
- **2023-12** — Raised $2.7M additional Series A funding (Dec 14, 2023)
- **2023-06** — Expanded platform to serve founder and entrepreneur community with peer support groups and liquidity products

## Links

- Website: https://pandopooling.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/charlie-olson
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/imcharlieolson
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/HQPando/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/charlie-olson
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-14