Abb Kapoor and David Potter met as roommates at the University of Maryland, living in tight quarters in a forced triple.
That means, a trio of freshman get jammed into a small room not meant for three, forced to deal with the limited space.
Kapoor and Potter became fast friends, agreeing that they needed off-campus housing that summer. Both were on full scholarships and when it came to applying for housing, they were rejected outright.
“When we applied for off-campus living, we got rejected for every single opportunity, 13 straight,” co-founder Potter told Colorado Inno. “It wasn’t because we didn’t have the money for the places, it was because we didn’t have established credit scores. A biproduct of us having full scholarships and not having student loans is that we didn’t have a credit score.”
So, couch surfing it was for that summer. But, the duo didn’t sit back and relax, they began working on their own credit and devising a solution to help people build credit.
They began a private practice, helping students, immigrants and others build and maintain credit. But, as their client list grew, they sought an automated solution.
They launched Curu.
After several iterations, company relocations, accelerator programs and small rounds, the company closed a $3 million seed round Wednesday and put down permanent roots in Denver.
The seed round led by Vestigo Ventures, a fintech firm based in Boston, and joined by Harlem Capital, Matchstick Ventures, Carolina Fintech Ventures, Techstars Ventures, Holt Accelerator, Chingona Ventures and Upscale Fund.
Since launching, Curu has repositioned itself as a B2B product, offering an automated lead recovery solution enabling lenders to fund more loans.
This round follows Curu’s pre-seed raise, which closed in September of 2019. In nine months, Curu repositioned its direct-to-consumer application to an integrated SaaS product offering for banks, lenders and credit unions. In March, Curu went live with its first enterprise partner, Bank Novo, and has just launched with its second partner, LendKey, this month.
With Curu, loan applicants who typically would be rejected by lenders are given a soft landing, receiving personalized recommendations on actions they need to take to be approved sooner.
Curu’s technology, which appears under the lender’s brand, tracks your standing with the application, pointing out where you fell short and how you can reach approval.
“We’re showing you the exact amounts you should pay off on all your lines of credits, bills and your utilities to build the shortest path to approval,” Kapoor said.
The eight-person company has fully relocated to Denver after taking part in the Techstars Western Union Accelerator in 2019 and is looking to grow locally following this round.
Kapoor also said the uncertain economic climate caused by Covid-19 makes credit more important than ever before for those who need it.
“The unfortunate reality of what’s going on right now is a lot of people are losing their jobs,” he said. “Credit is an opportunity for people to make mandatory expenses within the confines of what their needs are. The demand for credit is skyrocketing.”
The funds from this round will be used to expand the product’s offerings, integrate further with lenders and grow the team, as Potter anticipated doubling the staff size in the next two years.
As Curu continues to grow, its co-founders harken back to their original apartment story to shape the future of the company.
“We want to completely replace the rejection email with an approval dashboard,” Kapoor said.
“At the end of the day, our mission is to eliminate credit rejection,” Potter added.
