Backed connects borrowers who have thin or no credit files with sponsors (backers) who can vouch for them to reduce interest rates and enable access to loans. Borrowers bring in sponsors who act as backers rather than traditional co-signers; backers are notified after a borrower's credit is damaged rather than being immediately responsible for the full loan. The company offers loans ranging from $3,000 to $25,000 with interest rates averaging roughly 11%. Co-founders George Popescu and Gilad Woltsovitch position the product to help millennials and "credit invisibles" build credit; Popescu notes his own lack of a credit score when he arrived in the U.S. Backed is accepting loan applications in New York, New Jersey, and Florida. The company has raised over $2 million in seed financing to date (including a $1.5M raise reported) from a collection of angel investors, iAngels, and Cyhawk Ventures, and will use roughly half the new funds for product development and hiring and the remainder for customer acquisition.

Total raised

$2M

Funding rounds

1

Latest round

Seed

Latest activity

Dec 2015