This is how Nicky Goulimis describes the goal of her company. Together with two fellow students, while still studying at Stanford University, Nicky Goulimis founded in 2015 Fintech Nova Credit in order to build “economic bridges,” and make it easier for immigrants to gain access to loans and financial services in general.
The company has already raised a total of $69 million from investors, and it has forged a collaboration with American Express. But how did it all start?
As she explains at the Endeavor Greece Outliers podcast series, Nicky, born in Britain to Greek parents, had utterly different dreams when she was little. She wanted to be an actress.
However, she followed a different path. When she graduated, in the midst of the global financial crisis, she initially worked for banks that were undergoing restructuring in Ireland, Scotland and Switzerland. Her decision to take her master’s degree at Stanford University brought her closer to the world of startups.
“When I went to Stanford, I was not interested in startups. I just fell in love with the idea. I like building something new,” she said.
The idea to start the company was triggered by her own experience. As she had no credit history in the United States, she was asked to pay six months’ rent in advance the first time she wanted to rent a flat. When she tried to take a loan, the interest rates were extremely high for the same reason.
“In a world that becomes more and more global, the credit system is not global,” the COO of NovaCredit points out. The documents for founding the company were signed while they were still students. Then they found their first clients. The first countries they cooperated with were India and Mexico, as they were well aware of the problems their own people faced while migrating.”
Today NovaCredit collaborates with leading credit bureaus from all over the world, and the three founders have built a team that puts a lot of emphasis on multiculturalism and the importance of culture.
Does this team look towards Greece? “Greece undergoes an extremely creative period. When we expand in Europe, there is a lot of talent here and we would like to form some partnerships,” she says.
As to what kind of qualifications does one need to become an outlier? “Well, to be able to look back at their company from a distance… and to be curious. Things change all the time.”
“Pokemon has got a slogan saying ‘gotta catch them all’ and our strategy is partly ‘gotta catch them all’ because we are building a worldwide credit bureau… If we want to reach our long term goals, we have to expand worldwide.”
This is how Nicky Goulimis describes the goal of her company. Together with two fellow students, while still studying at Stanford University, Nicky Goulimis founded in 2015 Fintech Nova Credit in order to build “economic bridges,” and make it easier for immigrants to gain access to loans and financial services in general.
The company has already raised a total of $69 million from investors, and it has forged a collaboration with American Express. But how did it all start?
As she explains at the Endeavor Greece Outliers podcast series, Nicky, born in Britain to Greek parents, had utterly different dreams when she was little. She wanted to be an actress.
However, she followed a different path. When she graduated, in the midst of the global financial crisis, she initially worked for banks that were undergoing restructuring in Ireland, Scotland and Switzerland. Her decision to take her master’s degree at Stanford University
brought her closer to the world of startups.
“When I went to Stanford, I was not interested in startups. I just fell in love with the idea. I like building something new,” she said.
The idea to start the company was triggered by her own experience. As she had no credit history in the United States, she was asked to pay six months’ rent in advance the first time she wanted to rent a flat. When she tried to take a loan, the interest rates were extremely high for the same reason.
“In a world that becomes more and more global, the credit system is not global,” the COO of NovaCredit points out. The documents for founding the company were signed while they were still students. Then they found their first clients. The first countries they cooperated with were India and Mexico, as they were well aware of the problems their own people faced while migrating.”
Today NovaCredit collaborates with leading credit bureaus from all over the world, and the three founders have built a team that puts a lot of emphasis on multiculturalism and the importance of culture.
Does this team look towards Greece? “Greece undergoes an extremely creative period. When we expand in Europe, there is a lot of talent here and we would like to form some partnerships,” she says.
As to what kind of qualifications does one need to become an outlier? “Well, to be able to look back at their company from a distance… and to be curious. Things change all the time.”