Yendo Secures $24M in Series A Financing
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Yendo, the pioneering firm behind the first-ever vehicle-secured credit card, recently finalized its Series A financing round, amassing an impressive $24 million. The round was headed by FPV Ventures, with contributions from existing investors Human Capital and Autotech Ventures.
This funding event represents a significant achievement for Yendo, an enterprise committed to extending prime credit opportunities to countless Americans who have been historically marginalized by the traditional credit system due to their credit scores.
The fresh capital injection is set to supercharge Yendo’s growth trajectory, equipping the company with the resources necessary to expand its team, refine its product offerings, and broaden its reach by venturing into more states. As a part of the agreement, Wesley Chan, a representative from the lead investor FPV Ventures, will be taking a seat on Yendo’s board.
Yendo’s mission revolves around broadening access to affordable credit, thereby empowering everyone to realize their financial ambitions. The company leverages the value of customers’ vehicles to provide access to revolving credit, up to $10,000, at a stable, affordable rate, without the constraints of their credit scores.
Yendo’s innovative approach to determining a person’s credit limit – considering factors such as income, expenses, and vehicle value – has revolutionized the industry, enabling those who have been left out of the traditional credit system to establish and build their credit. This feature is particularly attractive to Yendo’s clientele, with a staggering 90% acknowledging that credit building is a primary motivation for using the product.
The company’s co-founder and CEO, Jordan Miller, expressed his dissatisfaction with the current financial system, which he believes doesn’t cater to everyone’s needs. As a result, a large number of Americans are left without access to affordable lending options, forcing them to turn to high-interest, non-bank financial products that cost them billions of dollars each year.
With Yendo, Miller aims to remodel how Americans engage with financial services, creating a product that democratizes access to affordable credit, irrespective of consumers’ credit scores. He is optimistic that this funding will accelerate the company’s growth, enabling it to scale its operations and reach out to more individuals in need.
Wesley Chan, the co-founder and managing partner of FPV Ventures, expressed his excitement about partnering with Jordan Miller and the rest of the Yendo team. He lauded Miller as a brilliant product developer who has crafted a product that provides accessible and affordable credit to a segment of consumers that have historically been subjected to appalling lending options.
Chan believes that Yendo is a step in the right direction towards leveling the playing field for consumers, and he is ecstatic to support this mission and the team behind it.
Today, Yendo is making significant strides in its journey, saving its customers over $85,000 in interest daily. Since its launch last year, it has experienced a consistent growth in its customer base, expanding by 15% on a weekly basis. The Yendo card is the first in a line of financial products that the company is developing, aiming to cater to Americans who have been neglected by the current financial system.
Established in 2021 by Jordan Miller, George Utkov, and Daniel Ashy, Yendo’s vehicle-secured credit card is a groundbreaking product designed for the vast number of Americans who have been historically excluded from the financial system due to their credit scores or lack thereof. To avail Yendo’s services, all that a customer needs is a smartphone and a car.
In less than 10 minutes, customers can access up to $10,000 in revolving credit at a fixed, affordable rate, irrespective of their credit scores.
Yendo plans to utilize this funding to fulfill several key objectives:
- Help more people: Yendo aims to venture into new markets and extend its reach to people in need of affordable credit options.
- Expand its product suite: Yendo will continue refining its existing product while introducing new features and tools designed to assist more people in achieving their financial goals.
- Grow its team: Key hires are on the horizon for Yendo, an initiative that will hasten the company’s growth and augment its capacity to deliver value to its customers.
Yendo sets itself apart from non-bank lenders in several ways. First, the company has the backing of a bank, positioning it in a unique category compared to non-bank lenders. Furthermore, Yendo’s services are, on average, 95% cheaper than traditional non-bank lenders. Its credit lines revolve, enabling customers to pay back their credit without incurring interest.
Importantly, Yendo reports to the credit bureaus, assisting customers in building their credit. Lastly, Yendo offers a fast, convenient service that can be accessed entirely from a smartphone, effectively bridging the gap for consumers, particularly those residing in financial deserts, who lack access to affordable credit solutions.
Yendo’s co-founders acknowledge that subprime credit isn’t an attractive topic for many, especially investors and traditional tech hubs. However, they saw the potential impact a credit card product could have for everyday people who had limited access to affordable credit. Prior to Yendo, the team built a lending program for small businesses in Asia, leveraging asset-based financing to significantly reduce borrowing costs that plague underdeveloped credit markets.
This experience showed them the potential of a similar model in the U.S., unlocking the equity trapped in one of consumers’ largest assets, their vehicles. Already, Yendo’s approach has saved customers an average of $1,185 per month compared to those who typically use title or payday loans to finance their daily lives.
The company is supported by notable investors, including Mark Cuban, FPV Ventures, Human Capital, and Autotech Ventures1. One might question whether the company would repossess cars if someone fails to make a payment. However, Yendo is committed to keeping cardholders in their cars, regardless of their financial situation.
In case a cardholder falls behind on payments, the company works with them to create a plan to get back on track. Reposessions only occur as a last resort after exhausting all other options, and the company ensures it never profits from repossessing a customer’s car.
Looking ahead, Yendo has ambitious plans for its future. While it can’t reveal all the details just yet, the company will use this funding round to make its current product more accessible and add additional features and tools to meet the needs of its customers beyond just credit.
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