For Paul Stafford, co-founder of Synops, it really is rocket science. Originally from the Bay Area, Stafford started his impressive career with 7 years at NASA. There he engineered infrared telescope sensors before spending 11 years at Hewlett-Packard in RF and microwave research and development.

So what exactly does a published rocket scientist/tech engineer do? Move to Missoula, Montana. In January 2003, Stafford and his wife came to Missoula to follow his wife’s inspiration for wildlife art. “We drove from Denver to Coeur d’Alene,” Stafford commented, “Just looking for the right place.”

By this time, Paul had decided to throw another curve ball by shifting his talents at HP from engineering to marketing. “It was a hard switch, but I had the opportunity to work with people from all over the world.” Now Paul describes himself as “an engineer who can talk.” His experience in marketing at HP definitely helped him cultivate a well-rounded entrepreneurial perspective, which would soon prove to be a key asset for his new business, Currency Risk Management (CRM).

The idea for CRM developed when Paul left HP and became involved with Commercial Real Estate in Montana, working with many high net worth individuals who invested globally. Seeing the potential for a Foreign Exchange Risk Management company, Paul embarked on his sole proprietorship. He is an avid learner and taught himself the art of hedging and FX Risk Management, enough to create his own algorithms – the basis for several papers published in Treasury and Risk magazine. With CRM, Paul works with clients from Canada to the Philippines.

Paul stressed the importance of scalability in his business, “It was important for me to implement  what’s in my mind… to help as many clients as possible as a one-man show.”

With the success of CRM, Paul came highly recommended by Saxo Bank  when the owner of Infinity International in London, Rob Groves, asked for someone with an FX options background. The two decided to create a company using Paul’s IP,  and Synops was born.

“London is the center of the FX world”, and therefore the perfect spot to headquarter an FX business. Only a few blocks from the World Bank, Synops is housed in Infinity International’s offices for now.

Paul now works from his home in Huson, but communicates daily with his partners in London. “It’s about a 7 hour time difference so we overlap about 3 hours.” Then every 2 months Paul hops on a plane to London for a busy week meeting with potential clients. When asked his favorite part about working internationally, without skipping a beat he responded “variety”.

We asked Paul what his advice is for Montana businesses interested in expanding across borders. “It’s a gigantic opportunity. Remember the U.S. is less than 5% of the world’s population,” he shared, “Don’t overlook currency risk. One of the biggest aspects of working across borders is dealing with currency exchange. Do what’s easiest for the customer and pay attention to being competitive.”

Synops is launching their initial product line in December, and have  an extensive product development roadmap.

Paul has taught several FX seminars locally, and is looking to provide more resources for MWTC members.