Fintech One-on-One: Julie Szudarek, CEO of Self Financial

Fintech Nexus

Until fintech came along, there was a serious catch-22 when it came to establishing credit. There was no easy way to establish your own credit score without first obtaining credit. This became a real problem with Gen-Z and even younger millennials who have avoided credit cards. But for most people, successfully establishing a good credit score opens doors that are otherwise unavailable. Fintech has come up with some creative solutions to help both establish a credit score or reestablish one that has dropped significantly.

My next guest on the Fintech One-on-One podcast is Julie Szudarek, the CEO of Self. She has been in this role for almost six months, taking over from founder James Garvey (listen to the episode with James here). Self was the inventor of the credit builder account and the space has grown a lot in the last few years as consumers are more aware than ever of the importance of a good credit score.

In this podcast you will learn:

• What attracted Julie to the CEO role at Self.
• How she describes Self today.
• The different types of people who are coming to Self.
• How their credit builder account works.
• What people do once they have been through their 12-month program.
• What their customers like most about Self.
• How much on average the typical Self customer increases their credit score.
• Details of their new rent and bills reporting product.
• How they approach financial literacy with their customers.
• How she responds to the criticism of credit builder products.
• Why they decided to partner with SpringFour.
• What they do to help their customers when they get into financial difficulty.
• Why they decided to sponsor the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA.
• Where is Self going in the short to medium term.