From a Denny’s to a Unicorn: The Rise of Esusu

The lore of Silicon Valley is often written in the imagery of the humble garage—the birthplace of Google and Amazon—or the makeshift motel rooms where Microsoft first took shape. But for Wemimo Abbey and Samir Goel, the path to building a $1.2 billion company was forged in a far more desperate setting: the booths of a Denny’s restaurant.

The founders of Esusu, a fintech platform designed to help renters build credit by reporting on-time rent payments to credit bureaus, did not start with a windfall of venture capital. Instead, they navigated a grueling period of financial instability, during which they each accumulated roughly $100,000 in credit card debt and were forced to couch-surf and sleep in chain restaurants when they could no longer afford hotel rooms.

Today, Esusu stands as one of the first Black-owned fintech startups to achieve unicorn status. With a valuation of $1.2 billion following a $50 million Series C funding round in December, the company now serves approximately 12 million people across 5 million rental units in all 50 U.S. States.

For Abbey and Goel, the drive to disrupt the credit reporting system was not merely a business opportunity; it was a response to personal histories of financial exclusion. Abbey, raised in the slums of Lagos, Nigeria, witnessed his family fall victim to predatory lending after moving to Michigan without a credit score. Similarly, Goel, who immigrated from New Delhi, India, saw his parents struggle to survive in the U.S. Without a financial identity or savings account. These lived experiences formed the bedrock of a company built on the premise that a person’s financial identity should not determine their destination in life.

The high cost of ‘falling forward’

The partnership began in 2014 at the Clinton Global Initiative Conference. At the time, Abbey was managing a social venture called Clean Water for Everyone, while Goel was co-founding Transfernation, a non-profit focused on redistributing excess food to underserved communities in New York City. Despite their different focuses, both shared an entrepreneurial drive and a commitment to social equity.

The transition from social ventures to a scalable fintech business was far from seamless. While Esusu formally launched in 2018, the groundwork was laid over years of “dark days.” The co-founders spent their early years juggling demanding corporate roles—Abbey at PwC and Goel at LinkedIn—while building the platform in their spare time.

The most significant hurdle was the venture capital landscape. Abbey recalls that 326 investors rejected them during their first attempt to raise funds. The founders attribute this systemic resistance to a lack of diversity among VC leaders, who often lacked the lived experience to see the market potential for the “underbanked.”

Goel recalls VCs asking, “Who cares about 40 points on a credit score?” and questioning how many people actually lived paycheck to paycheck. This disconnect highlighted a massive gap in perception: while investors saw a niche market, the founders saw the majority of Americans. This is supported by broader economic data; while a Bank of America analysis indicated nearly a quarter of Americans lived paycheck-to-paycheck in 2025, a separate report from PNC suggested as many as 67% of U.S. Citizens felt they were in that financial rut.

A timeline of financial risk and reward

From a Denny’s booth to Sand Hill Road

The turning point for Esusu came when the founders reached a crossroads: they were both up for corporate promotions, but the business was gaining enough traction that investors began demanding they travel “all-in.” Choosing the risk of entrepreneurship over the safety of a corporate ladder, they quit their jobs.

The immediate aftermath was a period of extreme austerity. To fund marketing campaigns and travel for investor meetings, they maxed out their credit cards. The desperation peaked during a trip to San Francisco. Short on funds for a hotel, Abbey and Goel attempted to sleep in a Denny’s restaurant.

“We begged the [Denny’s worker] to let us stay long enough to figure out a ride to the airport,” Goel said. “And then we were meeting an investor who lived down from Mark Zuckerberg.”

This stark contrast—sleeping in a diner one night and meeting the world’s wealthiest individuals the next—underscored the volatility of the startup journey. Eventually, the tide turned as the company attracted investments from SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Serena Williams’ firm, Serena Ventures, along with Motley Fool Ventures and the Acumen Fund.

Quantifying the impact on credit equity

The success of Esusu is measured not just by its valuation, but by the movement of credit scores for millions of renters. By reporting rent payments—a significant monthly expense that traditionally does not contribute to a credit score—the company provides a pathway to financial mobility for those previously ignored by traditional banking systems.

The company reports that in 2025, it helped 272,361 renters establish credit scores for the first time, representing a 34% year-over-year increase. On average, Esusu customers saw their credit scores rise by 53 points last year. According to the company, this collective increase in creditworthiness unlocks approximately $77 billion in economic opportunity for its users.

Goel emphasizes that the company’s growth was fueled by the users themselves long before the venture capitalists came on board. “Even before investors took a bet on us, we could see from the actual people that we were serving that this product was valuable,” Goel said, noting that the loyalty of the community was a competitive advantage that could not be replicated.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice.

As Esusu continues to expand, Goel states the company is evolving into a “one-stop-shop” product for financial health. The next phase of growth will likely focus on deepening the suite of tools available to renters to maintain and grow their financial identities beyond simple credit reporting.

We want to hear from you: Do you consider rent reporting should be a standard part of all credit scores? Share your thoughts in the comments below.