JAY-Z is a key investor in the app, Perch Credit, aimed to help underserved communities boost their credit scores.
The Los Angeles-based credit building system was founded in 2019 and secured a $2.5 million investment to launch the app.
Perch Credit CEO Michael Broughton and CTO Ayush Jain co-founded the company and will join forces with credit unions to report recurring payments like rent and subscriptions like Netflix, Hulu, and Spotify.
MVP, which was co-founded by Roc Nation co-founders Jay-Z and Jay Brown with venture capitalist Larry Marcus, is allowing them to grant access to free credit building and financial literacy content.
Broughton, 22, spoke about Perch Credit securing the co-sign from JAY-Z’s Marcy Venture Projects in an interview with Yahoo Finance. “Yeah, definitely not easy. I came from a background where I was never even exposed to venture capital or working with investors. And it wasn’t until YC and meeting Michael that I really started learning how to get engaged, how to start talking to VCs and start raising capital. I got told no over 100 times before we got our first check.”
Broughton has a goal of helping 100,000 people and he was inspired to launch his product after spending most of his life overseas and not even being exposed to venture capital.
So when it comes to Perch, we realize that accessibility is one of our strongest features and attributes. Anyone, from an international student to a low income individual, to someone just now entering the US, can all use the platform to start building credit. We focus on cash flow underwriting, so using basic things like if you’re paying your Netflix, if you’re paying your rent, as determinants for whether or not you can actually use the app.
Have you signed up for the Perch Credit app yet?