Credit Karma, founded in May 2007, provides free ad-supported access to consumer credit reports. Based on website traffic, it is one of the most popular companies to demo at Finovate (see previous coverage). The company has closed in on the million-visitor mark several times this year (see chart below).
Web Traffic:
(Retrieved June 23, 2011 from compete.com)
Number of Employees: 22
Headquarters: San Francisco, CA
Market Position: Credit score provider
Value Proposition: Credit Karma uses targeted advertisements to offset the cost of purchasing credit information from TransUnion. The company also provides tools and calculators to help understand and predict credit score changes.
Revenue in 2010: Over $3 million
Timeline:
The User Experience:
1) Create a user profile with email and a password.
2) Provide personal information to retrieve your credit information.
3) Confirm your identity.
4) View your credit score, learn how it was calculated, and see how it compares to others.
5) Use Credit Karma’s tools to see how future events, such as applying for a new credit card, will impact your credit score.
6) Credit Karma provides recommendations from advertisers based on your credit score. A
high credit score might yield a credit card offer similar to the Chase offer to the right, whereas another might trigger an auto loan offer.
Recently, Credit Karma announced a new service called Approval Odds, which is a free feature that aims to help consumers avoid being declined for a credit card.
To see a live demo of this service from FinovateStartup 2009, check it out here.