Jan 23, 2019
Andrew Graham is co-founder and CEO of Borrowell, a financial technology company that helps consumers make great decisions about credit. Borrowell was the first company in Canada to offer credit scores for free and has grown to be one of the country’s largest fintech companies, with over 800,000 users. Borrowell has won numerous awards, including being named one of the top 100 fintech companies in the world by KPMG.
Andrew holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and an MA in economics from the University of Edinburgh. He was recently a finalist for the Ontario region for EY's Entrepreneur of the Year award.
“Money is a really challenging topic for many people.”
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Episode Overview:
I thought we should talk about the ‘scary’ credit score topic. I get to sit down Andrew Graham is co-founder and CEO of Borrowell, a financial technology company that helps consumers make great decisions about credit.
- Borrowell is FREE credit score tool
- How credit scores can help you save money. After all the holiday parties/shopping.. Who can’t use more money?
- Gives us tips in how we can improve our scores
- Debunk the myths checking & monitoring our credit scores
- How entrepreneurship is a lonely road, with an emotional rollercoaster
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The Idea behind Borrowell is to help people make the right decisions about using credits so that they can accomplish what they want to accomplish. The fact is 20 percent of people in Canada don’t pay their credit card balance every month.
After a year in the business of lending people credits, Andrew realized that many people did not know what their credit situation was and in 2016, Borrowell became the first company that offers credit scores for free in Canada.
Does checking our credit score actually decrease our credits?
Applying for loans can actually decrease your credit while checking your credit does not impact your credit score. Using Borrowell to check your credit score can actually help increase your credit score in time.
Improve your credit score by constantly monitoring your credits. You can also use Borrowell’s new tool called the Credit Coach that analyzes your credit file as well as make suggestions on the actions that you could take to help improve your score.
How to build credits and credit history
One of the challenges of people especially students who are traveling and plans to stay on one country to another is to get their credit score. The best way to build your credit score is to pay your bills on time since credit bureau keep tracks if you pay your bills on time or not.
If you are new to Canada and you need to have a credit card, it is good to get a card with a really low limit so that you won’t get yourself in any difficulty. If you purchase something with small amounts make sure you pay it in full and in the course of 6-12 months, you will start building a credit response.
Lessons Learned:
- Surround yourself with smart people to help you get around things that you might find difficult.
- When picking a name for your company, make sure that it is a reflection of you and make sure it make sense to individuals.
- Test early and often
- Don’t always trust your gut. You got to have feedback
- Surround yourself with people who have a diverse point of view
- Getting the right people when starting and growing your company is so important.
- You don’t need to have an idea to start a business. You just need to solve the problem that you are passionate about.
Sales and Marketing Tips:
- Word of mouth is really important to build your business
- Try to be everywhere
- Find great founders and cofounders to help you early in the journey is so important
Book Recommendation:
- The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
About Borrowell:
Borrowell is a 100% Canadian company, with a single goal in mind: to help Canadians make great decisions about credit. Our job is to empower you by providing the tools you need to improve your credit score and save money.
While it’s our technology that differentiates us, it’s people that motivate us. We were the first company in Canada to introduce free credit scores and over 500,000 Canadians to date have received theirs.
Connect with Andrew:
LinkedIn: Andrew Graham and Borrowell
Website: Borrowell.com
Twitter: @andrewtgraham and @Borrowell