NerdWallet is a free, personal finance company that helps you make better financial decisions. Founded in 2009 by Tim Chen and Jacob Gibson, the company provides also tools and advice make it easy to pay off debt, choose the best financial products and services, and tackle major life goals.
The company first started out as a web application that provided information on bank-issued credit cards, and have users the chance to compare them all to one another; if said users received a credit card through the service, banks would pay a success fee to Nerdwallet. As time went on, its website traffic continued to grow and had a total of 30 million users by 2014; by 2015, the company created relationships with eight banks and about a dozen insurance companies.
Today, NerdWallet has both a website and app for people to utilize as they begin on their financial journey. You can use it to compare different financial products and find articles and tools to make financial decisions; you can also keep tabs on your finances, as well as your credit score.
Will NerdWallet IPO?
NerdWallet has yet to announce any plans of going public, but there have been a few events that may lead up to it.
The company acquired two companies in 2020. First, it acquired the U.K.-based company Know Your Money, which provides users with a similar range of services as NerdWallet does in the U.S.; the acquisition became the company’s first operation outside of the country.
Then in October, the company acquired Fundera, a marketplace for small business financial solutions. With this acquisition, NerdWallet said that it will expand its financial guidance and financing options for small business owners.
Two months later, the company revealed that it hired Lauren St. Clair as its new chief financial officer. St. Clair previously served as the North American CFO for online marketplace eBay for almost two years; she also has 18 years of experience working in finance, startups and multinational corporations. She now leads all of NerdWallet’s financial operations and aids in its rapid growth and international expansion.
In a statement, St. Clair said: “I am unbelievably impressed with the fantastic business and solid financials behind NerdWallet, as well as the thoughtfulness, humility, and maturity of my future colleagues. I’m excited to join NerdWallet after such a strong year of growth, and look forward to working alongside the ‘Nerds’ to continue building on this success and scaling the business.”
NerdWallet also expanded its board of directors last year. The first addition was Jennifer Ceran, CFO of Smartsheet, in July, while Lynne Laube, co-founder and CEO of Cardlytics, followed in November.
