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(This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /home4/scienrds/scienceandnerds/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6114Source:https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2023\/03\/28\/stellarfi-lands-15m-to-help-people-build-credit-by-paying-bills-rent-on-time\/<\/a><\/br> Building credit is hard when it\u2019s difficult to even get credit.<\/span><\/p>\n And while it\u2019s not impossible to get loans or credit cards, they are usually offered at high interest rates to the people who can least afford to pay them.<\/span><\/p>\n One Austin-based startup is out to help people build \u2014 or get \u2014 credit without taking on debt. And that startup, <\/span>StellarFi<\/span><\/a>, has just closed on a $15 million Series A round of funding to help it advance on that goal.<\/span><\/p>\n Lamine Zarrad started StellarFi in 2021 after selling another fintech company he\u2019d started, banking app Joust, to ZenBusiness in 2020. Having faced his own struggles receiving credit as an immigrant, Zarrad was looking for a way to help others gain access to credit.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n He started StellarFi on the premise that people should be able to see benefits to their credit scores just by doing everyday things such as paying rent and bills on time. It does this by charging a subscription \u2014 either $4.99 or $9.99 \u2014 to manage members\u2019 bills and recurring payments such as rent, subscriptions and utilities. Its goal is not only to help consolidate the payments, but to help ensure members pay on time. StellarFi then reports those on-time payments directly to the four main credit bureaus \u2014 Experian, Equifax, TransUnion and Innovis.<\/span><\/p>\n The company does not require a credit check or deposits and doesn\u2019t charge any interest. It claims that members see an average increase of 26 points in the first month. <\/span>The average credit score of users at signup is 580.<\/span><\/p>\n As a public benefit corporation, StellarFi\u2019s mission is to help \u201cfinancially disadvantaged\u201d communities with support to build good credit. With its new capital, the company intends to build a marketplace to then link members to lenders.<\/span><\/p>\n Since launching its offering in late June, the company\u2019s growth has exceeded expectations, according to Zarrad. StellarFi closed out the year with over $2 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) \u2014 about double what it was projecting.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201c<\/span>In 134 days, we had hit $1 million in ARR,\u201d he told TechCrunch. \u201cI\u2019ve built a unicorn before, but never seen this kind of growth.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n While Zarrad did not disclose the company\u2019s new valuation after its latest raise, he shared that it was a significant \u201cup round.\u201d In total, StellarFi has raised $22.2 million in funding. Repeat backer Acrew Capital led its Series A, which included participation from Trust Ventures, ATX Venture Partners, Dream Ventures, Interplay, Accomplice Ventures, Vera Equity, FJ Labs, Fiat Ventures, Gaingels, Kelmhurst, Oyster Funds, Hilltop Ventures, Permit Ventures, Kindergarten Ventures, J2 Capital, Socially Financed and Kapital Ventures.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cEvery single seed investor participated in this round,\u201d Zarrad said. \u201cAnd we added new ones. Everyone is energized.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n StellarFi was set to close on $5 million in venture debt from Signature Bank for runway extension \u2014 a deal that fell through once that institution was forced to shutter earlier this month. It plans to still secure debt from another institution.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Last September, Experian \u2014 perhaps in response to the increasing number of fintechs tackling this problem \u2014 released a new product called Experian Boost that, in its own words, lets people \u201cget credit\u201d for paying their rent on time. According to Zarrad, <\/span>Experian Boost allows users to link their bank accounts via Finicity, then automatically identifies certain recurring bills like utilities and rent and extracts that data into their internal model designed to showcase alternative payment behaviors. This model resides only at Experian, Zarrad points out, as TransUnion, Equifax or Innovis don\u2019t have access to it.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cMore importantly, it\u2019s not used by lenders in credit decisions,\u201d he added. By contrast, as mentioned above, StellarFi operates as a bill-pay manager to help members continue to make on-time payments, and reports payments to all four credit bureaus, to impact all credit score models.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cUnlike Boost, StellarFi does not report payment history derived from linked bank accounts. Instead, StellarFi actually pays the bills and then members pay us back,\u201d Zarrad told TechCrunch. \u201cTherefore, we\u2019re able to create a credit relationship that we report to all bureaus that generate consumer reports used by lenders. In other words, our members are covered, no matter which credit report their lenders pull.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The company <\/span>has added affiliate partners and is investing in SEO and is seeing even faster growth this year, according to Zarrad.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve signed contracts with neobanks and other fintechs are sending us their customers,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re still onboarding lenders and financial institutions.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n StellarFi has put a lot of eggs into the affiliate basket, Zarrad said, because he believes it creates trust and that conversions \u201care much higher\u201d versus \u201cgoing online and buying folks on social media.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The company intends to build out more features and is still developing its mobile app.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOur next goal is to conquer the mobile experience completely,\u201d he said. \u201cOnce that\u2019s done, members can not only get better credit, but also access to capital. We want to help them get that money through partners.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Surprisingly thus far, Zarrad said that StellarFi has had \u201czero defaults\u201d but has seen tons of fraud. <\/span>\u201cBut we\u2019ve built sophisticated algorithms to catch it upfront and quarantined attempted fraudsters.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n John Gardner of Acrew Capital said his firm first invested in StellarFi at the seed stage because it \u201cheld strong conviction\u201d in Zarrad and his team\u2019s ability \u201cto scale another fintech business, considering their success building Joust.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cStellar\u2019s approach is exciting because it meets consumers where they are \u2013 internet bills. We think this form factor is much easier for users to understand and link, helping them see quick and persistent boosts to their credit score in a fairly short time frame. Stellar also reports into a broader set of FICO models, meaning the score benefit is applicable to heftier loans, like auto or mortgage,\u201d he wrote via email. \u201cWhen it came time for the Series A, it became readily apparent that Stellar\u2019s team could execute on their plans with a maniacal focus. They demonstrably improved credit scores within 30 days for members, scaled to over $1mm in ARR within a few months of launch and set up unique distribution partnerships to efficiently reach the right audiences. For consumer fintech, we get really excited by these growth characteristics, particularly when there is a clear line of sight to profitability.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Want more fintech news in your inbox? Sign up <\/span><\/i>here<\/span><\/i><\/a>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n
\nStellarFi lands $15M to help people build credit by paying bills, rent on time<\/br>
\n2023-03-29 22:32:59<\/br><\/p>\n