$100,000 in credit card debt and a night in a Denny’s—then a $1.2 billion fintech that changed how rent builds credit

Esusu customers saw their credit scores rise by an average of 53 points in 2025. That gain wasn’t abstract. It opened doors: lower interest rates, approved loans, first-time credit access. For 272,361 renters—up 34% from the year before—it meant establishing a credit score for the first time. Collectively, the company says, this unlocked $77 billion in economic opportunity.

The mechanism was simple but overlooked: rent is the largest monthly payment most Americans make, yet it historically didn’t count toward credit. Esusu changed that by reporting on-time payments to major credit bureaus. The idea was born not in a boardroom but from lived experience. Wemimo Abbey, raised in Lagos and later navigating life in Michigan without a credit history, saw his family fall into predatory lending. Samir Goel watched his parents arrive from New Delhi with no financial identity and no savings. They both had stable jobs—Abbey at PwC, Goel at LinkedIn—but left them to build Esusu full-time.

They were rejected by 326 investors. Many didn’t see the market. Some asked, “Who cares about 40 points on a credit score?” The cofounders knew the answer: millions living paycheck to paycheck. Nearly a quarter of Americans, according to Bank of America, lived that way in 2025. But the cofounders also burned through savings. Then they maxed out credit cards—$100,000 each. They couch-surfed. Once, driving to a fundraising meeting in San Francisco, they couldn’t afford a hotel. They slept in a Denny’s until they could secure a ride to the airport. The next day, they met with an investor who lived near Mark Zuckerberg.

The bet eventually paid off. Esusu raised more than $200 million in venture capital. Backers include SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Serena Williams’ Serena Ventures. Last December, the company closed a $50 million Series C round, pushing its valuation to $1.2 billion. It now reaches 5 million rental units across all 50 states, serving about 12 million people. The company is one of the first Black-owned fintech startups to reach unicorn status. The founders no longer sleep in diners. Their product, however, still serves those who might.