They slept in a Denny’s and maxed out credit cards—now their fintech startup is worth $1.2 billion

In 2025, Esusu helped 272,361 renters establish credit scores for the first time—a 34% year-over-year increase—and customers’ scores rose by an average of 53 points. That gain alone unlocked an estimated $77 billion in economic opportunity. The company behind this impact, now valued at $1.2 billion, was built on $100,000 in personal credit card debt per founder and nights spent sleeping in a Denny’s when hotel rooms were unaffordable.

Wemimo Abbey and Samir Goel, cofounders and co-CEOs of Esusu, launched the fintech platform to help renters build credit by reporting on-time payments to credit bureaus. Before its 2018 launch, both held full-time jobs—Abbey at PwC, Goel at LinkedIn—and spent years pitching investors. They were rejected 326 times, often hearing skepticism about the size of the market and the value of modest credit score gains. At the time, many venture capitalists didn’t see the need for a product serving Americans living paycheck to paycheck—67% of U.S. citizens, according to a PNC report.

When promotions loomed at their corporate jobs and investor interest finally began to solidify, Abbey and Goel made the leap: they quit to focus on Esusu full-time. With no runway, they funded travel, marketing, and meetings out of pocket. After exhausting their savings, they turned to credit cards, each accruing $100,000 in debt. They couch-surfed, cut every cost possible, and on one trip to San Francisco, stayed overnight in a Denny’s after failing to afford a room.

The next morning, they walked to meetings with investors who lived near some of the world’s wealthiest people. The contrast was stark. But persistence paid off. Esusu secured funding from SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Serena Ventures, and others, raising over $200 million total. The December 2024 Series C round set the company’s valuation at $1.2 billion.

Today, Esusu serves approximately 12 million people across 5 million rental units in all 50 states. Its success was never contingent on investor belief—early traction came from users who saw immediate value. Now, the economic return is measurable: 53 points, $77 billion, and a company that proved financial inclusion can scale.