Michael Wurzer

FBS

In 2019, Forbes named FBS a Small Giant Company, a designation it gives to 25 companies per year that put purpose before profit and believe in doing “better” before getting “bigger.” Those businesses focus on the long term and grow sustainably. FBS is the first firm in the real estate industry to be recognized as a Small Giant.

Financial Business Systems (known as FBS) was founded by Wurzer’s father, Paul Wurzer, in 1978 in Fargo, N.D. It began as a custom programming shop focused on financial institutions and hospitals, but the company later made a name for itself in the field of real estate technology.

Wurzer took the reins of the company from his father in 1997 and introduced the Flexmls System in 1999. He wanted to create a company of owners based on responsibility, keeping promises, and the freedom and opportunity of the “American dream of ownership.” FBS became a 100-percent employee-owned company in 2005.

In 2011, FBS introduced the Spark API Platform, the first RESO-compliant listings API. The innovative technology is now the most widely utilized listings API with the most market traction.

FBS doubled its employee base between 2012 and 2017 while retaining approximately 99 percent of existing MLS clients and receiving the highest scores for user and client satisfaction in annual industry-wide surveys. In 2018, FBS celebrated 40 years in business and its first acquisition, of Spring Software. Wurzer has served on the CMLS and RESO boards and is an avid industry blogger.