From Winter Gloves to Money Moments: The Journey of Erno Tauriainen and the Benjamin Revolution

When Erno Tauriainen , the founder of Benjamin , looks back on his life, it reads like a masterclass in entrepreneurial persistence, reinvention, and resilience. His journey, from a childhood spent in a family glove business in Finland to launching one of the most innovative cash-back platforms in the world, is nothing short of remarkable. It’s a testament to grit, curiosity, and an unwavering belief in the power of incentives.

A Humble Start in the Cold North

Erno grew up in Oulu, a small town in northern Finland, where his parents ran a glove manufacturing business. In the 1970s, his mother, the creative force behind the operation, made gloves inspired by the natural beauty of Lapland, a stark contrast to the bleak darkness of Finland’s "kaamos" (the season of no sunlight). His father, a relentless businessman, roped Erno into the business early on.

By the age of ten, Erno was selling winter gloves during the summer—a seemingly impossible task. Yet, this early experience taught him how to create urgency where there was none, a skill he would carry throughout his career. "I told people, ‘Buy now, or you’ll freeze later!’" he recalls. It wasn’t just about sales; it was about learning to innovate, incentivize, and understand consumer psychology.

The Entrepreneurial Spark

Erno’s path wasn’t a straight one. He left Finland to play hockey in the U.S. as a teenager but always returned to his entrepreneurial roots. By his twenties, he was experimenting with direct mail marketing—sending keychains and even hockey pucks in transparent boxes to potential customers to grab their attention. This idea, though rudimentary, laid the groundwork for his later ventures. 

In his first startup, Sales Magnet, he turned this concept into a business, mailing physical items as marketing gimmicks. While it worked locally, scaling was impossible. This led to his next venture, Cascard, where he decided to move beyond physical goods to something more universal: money.

Cascard introduced cash as an incentive for consumer actions. Whether it was showing up for a test drive or attending a bank seminar, the concept was simple but revolutionary: people respond to money better than points, prizes, or gimmicks. As Erno puts it, "Cash is king. It’s universal, it’s understood, and it works."

Learning From Setbacks

Yet, Cascard’s journey was fraught with challenges. Investors pushed for pivots Erno didn’t believe in, such as turning the business into a social platform called Wantlet. "I let others steer me away from my convictions," he admits. Despite being named one of AdAge’s most innovative startups in 2011, Wantlet wasn’t true to his vision. Frustrated, Erno walked away from his own company—a painful but necessary step.

His next venture, Receiptless, dove into expense management. It was during this phase that Erno became enamored with open banking and the potential of linking consumer spending data to personalized incentives. This led to Spent, an app that combined expense management with cash-back offers. With Spent, Erno raised millions, acquired users, and learned hard lessons about scalability and the competitive landscape of cash-back apps.

 The Birth of Benjamin

These experiences culminated in Benjamin, the ultimate distillation of Erno’s decades of experiments, failures, and successes. Benjamin is more than just a cash-back app—it’s a platform built on the concept of "Money Moments," small but impactful financial rewards for everyday actions. Whether it’s scanning a receipt, linking a bank account, or watching a short ad, Benjamin puts cash directly into users’ pockets.

 Unlike points or loyalty programs, cash is immediate and meaningful. Erno realized this early on: "Points don’t excite people. But $100? That’s tangible. That’s real." Naming the platform Benjamin—after the $100 bill and its iconic association with Benjamin Franklin—was a stroke of genius.

 Why It Works

What sets Benjamin apart isn’t just the cash rewards—it’s the philosophy behind it. Every feature in Benjamin is rooted in Erno’s lifelong belief in the power of incentives. The platform doesn’t just distribute money; it builds trust. Users know exactly what they’re getting, and brands benefit from transparent, measurable engagement.

Erno’s ability to weave together his life experiences—selling gloves in the summer, pioneering direct-mail marketing, and experimenting with cash-back models—has resulted in a product that feels both inevitable and revolutionary.

 A Journey of Conviction

Looking back, Erno sees Benjamin as the culmination of a life spent chasing a singular idea: that the simplest solutions are often the most powerful. "Everything I’ve done has led to this moment," he says. "From gloves to keychains, from Cascard to Spent, it’s all been about understanding people and what motivates them."

His story isn’t just about perseverance; it’s about staying true to a vision. "I’ve learned the hard way not to let anyone steer me away from what I know works," Erno reflects. "And what works is money—pure and simple."

 The Future of Money Moments

As Benjamin continues to grow, Erno remains laser-focused on the mission: putting Benjamins in everyone’s pocket. It’s not just about financial incentives; it’s about creating moments of joy, empowerment, and possibility.

Erno’s journey proves that success isn’t about avoiding failure—it’s about learning from it, pivoting when necessary, and never giving up. His story is a testament to the power of persistence, ingenuity, and, above all, conviction.

In a world of complex rewards and complicated systems, Benjamin’s simplicity is its superpower. And at its core is a man who never stopped believing in the power of a well-placed incentive.

10 Key Insights from Erno Tauriainen’s Journey and the Benjamin Origin Story

1. Start Small, Think Big Erno’s entrepreneurial roots began in his family’s glove business, where he learned the art of selling and creating demand—even for winter gloves in the summer. Those early lessons laid the foundation for his understanding of consumer psychology.
2. Incentives Drive Behavior Erno discovered early on that money is the most universal and effective motivator. Unlike points or gimmicks, cash speaks to everyone, making it the perfect incentive for engaging consumers.
3. Persistence Pays Off From pitching a prepaid Mastercard to an unwilling bank to winning a Visa partnership despite being ineligible, Erno’s story is one of relentless perseverance. His refusal to take “no” for an answer is a hallmark of his success.
4. The Power of Curiosity Erno’s curiosity about technologies like open banking, affiliate marketing, and expense management drove him to explore new ideas and innovate. His willingness to study trends and dive deep into emerging tools kept him ahead of the curve.
5. Failures Are Stepping Stones Cascard, Wantlet, and Spent each had their struggles and pivots, but Erno used every failure as a learning opportunity. Each venture added to the toolkit that would ultimately make Benjamin a success.
6. Stay True to Your Convictions A key takeaway from Erno’s journey is the importance of standing firm in your beliefs. Letting investors steer him away from his vision during Cascard taught him a critical lesson: trust your instincts and stay the course.
7. Recombination is Innovation Benjamin is the result of recombining lessons from a lifetime of experiences—receipt scanning, cashback incentives, affiliate links, and open banking. Erno took the best of what worked and packaged it into a cohesive, compelling product.
8. Simplicity Wins Erno’s shift from points and rewards to pure cash is a testament to the power of simplicity. People understand money, they trust it, and they value it. Benjamin’s clear value proposition sets it apart in a crowded market.
9. Branding is Everything The name "Benjamin" is genius—connecting the platform to the iconic $100 bill and the universal desire for financial reward. It reflects not just a product but a mission: to empower users with tangible, meaningful rewards.
10. Everything Connects in the End Erno’s journey, from selling gloves in the dark Finnish winters to creating the world’s first prepaid cashback Mastercard, shows how every step—no matter how small or unrelated it seems—can lead to something greater. As he says, “Benjamin is really the super version of Cascard.”

Bonus Insight: Resilience Overcomes All Obstacles

Whether it was navigating work visa issues, rebuilding after setbacks, or challenging the norms of the cashback industry, Erno’s resilience has been his most defining trait. He embodies the idea that success is a marathon, not a sprint.

These insights aren’t just reflections on Erno’s journey—they’re universal truths that any entrepreneur, leader, or innovator can apply to their own path.

Key Quotes: 

On resilience and persistence: “I just didn’t take no for an answer, and I kept building, building, building. Every time someone said no, I thought, ‘This isn’t the end—this is just part of the journey.’”

On the entrepreneurial spirit: “Growing up selling winter gloves in the summer taught me one thing—you can create demand for anything if you believe in it and work hard enough to show others its value.”

On conviction and vision: “I’ve always believed in the power of cash incentives. It’s universal, it’s simple, and it’s what people value most. That’s why I’ll never compromise on this vision again.”

On connecting past struggles to future success: “Looking back now, every challenge, every misstep, every pivot was teaching me something—every dot was leading me to Benjamin.”

On lessons from his upbringing: “My father always told me, ‘We don’t settle for second place. If you believe in something, you go all in and you win.’ That mindset shaped everything I’ve done since.”