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MeetTheExpert

Lane Conner Are there any common misconceptions about
ecommerce you'd like to clear up?

One misconception is that if you are in ecommerce, you are
automatically seen as a medium- to higher-risk business,
because it is card-not-present, and there is not that same
level of comfort as with a face-to-face transaction. There
is always going to be a little bit higher risk because of the
nature of the transaction. I'm 36 years old, and I did every
bit of my Christmas shopping this year online. I didn't
visit a mall or a store once. I think that's the thing that we
in the industry need to get through our heads: the next
generation, while they might go to malls to walk around
and shop here and there, most of the people I know are
buying online.

What motivated you to join The Green Sheet
Advisory Board?

I think The Green Sheet is an incredible resource for the
industry. I joined the forum first and saw a lot of what
was going on in the forum, and whether it was good or
bad – people with strong opinions – it was still a lot of
good information. If you want to post on there and ask
a question, generally you are going to get some pretty
good answers from some veterans who have been in
the industry a long time and know a lot. Once I started
ane Conner, founder and Chief Executive Officer looking at that and understanding that, I asked my boss at
of financial technology organization Fuzse and the time, at First American, how I could get more involved
member of The Green Sheet Advisory Board, in the industry. He told me to call The Green Sheet and see
L specializes in facilitating payment processing if they had a place on the advisory board. It was a great
services for entrepreneurs bringing fledgling businesses way to be in the community as well as being a voice in the
to market. In this interview, he discusses what it was like industry.
to work with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones; his start
in business at the age of five years old, working for his
parents; and his philosophy of never asking someone to What was it like to work with Dallas
do something he wouldn't do himself. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones?
It was phenomenal. Jerry Jones is an incredible
What do you love about your work, and what businessman; everything you've ever heard about him is
do you find most challenging? correct. He walks into a room, talks to you and you feel
like you are the only one there. The two years I spent at
I love trying to find solutions for people. I am a people Blue Star Payment Solutions was an amazing ride; you
person, and I love talking to people. One of my favorite don't get that kind of unfettered access to a billionaire that
things is learning about new products that are coming out. often in your life. Being able to learn and be a sponge for
It is a lot of fun to see new technology and how people are his business philosophy was a lot of fun.
fixing problems, making life easier for everybody. I have a
blast getting into a room with people, especially with the
developers at Fuzse, who think outside the box. Finding What keeps you engaged in the ecommerce industry?
companies that are developing answers to problems, Every day I feel there is something new; it is ever changing,
helping them get to market, and setting them up to take and the way merchants interact with consumers is
payments is my favorite part of the job. changing daily. What gets me out of bed every day is
finding new technology through our developers and
learning about the new technology. It's just a lot of fun. I
wake up energized by not only the people we are currently
doing business with, but also by what I'm going to see

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