NerdWallet
American personal finance company
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
NerdWallet is an American personal finance company, founded in 2009 by Tim Chen and Jacob Gibson. It has a website and app that earns money by promoting financial products to its users.
 | |
| Type of business | Public |
|---|---|
| Traded as | |
| Founded | August 2009 |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Created by |
|
| Key people | Tim Chen (CEO) |
| Industry | Personal finance, fintech |
| Revenue |  US$539 million (2022) |
| Operating income | −US$19 million (2022) |
| Net income | −US$10 million (2022) |
| Total assets | US$426 million (2022) |
| Total equity | US$342 million (2022) |
| Employees | 770 (2022) |
| URL | nerdwallet |
| [1] | |
History
NerdWallet was founded in August 2009 by Tim Chen and Jacob Gibson, with an initial capital investment of $800.[2][3] Its first product was a web application that provided comparative information about credit cards.[4] Subsequently, it generated large quantities of content to help boost its search engine results.[5][6] Website traffic grew quickly in 2010[7] and, by March 2014, the website had up to 30 million users.[4] The following year, it raised $64 million in its first round of funding, at an estimated valuation of $500 million.[2][4][8]
In 2016, the company acquired the retirement planning firm AboutLife, and was valued at $520 million.[7][9][10]
In August 2020, the company expanded its footprint into the UK by acquiring Know Your Money, a Norwich-based startup that provides a similar range of comparison and information tools geared at people who live in the UK[11] In November 2020, NerdWallet acquired small business loan marketplace, Fundera.[12] In 2021, NerdWallet partnered with Inclusiv, a nonprofit network of community development credit unions, and committed to move millions of dollars to local credit unions to advance financial equity.[13] In November 2021, the company went public on the Nasdaq stock exchange.[14]
In July 2022, NerdWallet acquired On the Barrelhead, a consumer debt robo-advisor platform, for $120 million.[15][16] In May 2023, Yahoo! Finance reported that NerdWallet's platform had an average of 23 million monthly users.[17]
Products and services
The company's goal is to provide information that educates users in making financial decisions.[18] NerdWallet's website and app feature comparison tools for financial products such as credit cards, checking accounts, and mortgages,[18] as well as loan, net-worth, and credit-score calculators.[19] NerdWallet staff also produce articles about financial topics such as investing, retirement planning, and taxes.[5][20]
By May 2015, the company developed business relationships with eight banks and a dozen insurance companies.[18] In exchange for new customers, affiliated banks pay NerdWallet a success fee.[4] Co-founder Chen reported that the company became profitable by virtue of the fees it earned through matching users with financial products and services.[8]
In October 2020, NerdWallet acquired Fundera, a company that provides loans to small and medium-sized businesses.[21] Fundera operates as a subsidiary of NerdWallet.[22] In 2022, NerdWallet acquired On the Barrelhead, a fintech company that generates loan and credit recommendations for individuals and small and medium-sized businesses. Upon acquisition, NerdWallet began to integrate On the Barrelhead's technology into its own products.[23]
Administration
Tim Chen is the CEO and co-founder of NerdWallet.[10][24] Company leadership also includes Lauren StClair (CFO),[25] Kevin Yuann (CBO),[26] and Lynee Luque (CPO).[27] As of January 2023, the company had 770 employees.[1]
Following the dismissal of 11 employees in December 2013, NerdWallet reorganized its leadership structure. Former LinkedIn VP Dan Yoo was hired as its COO in March 2014. Yoo created a complex internal reporting system that necessitated more frequent communication among previously atomized department heads.[10][28] By 2015, NerdWallet had 200 employees and added Vikram Pandit and James D. Robinson III to its board of advisors.[29][30] In April 2017, the company underwent further reorganization, laying off over 40 employees, including its VP of growth. As part of this move, the company announced Yoo would transition from full-time employment into an advisory role.[31]
In 2020, NerdWallet added Lynne Laube and Jennifer Ceran to its board of directors.[32]