Inside Affirm: From 2012 to Now Into a $1.5 billion business
Founders: Max Levchin
Founded Year: 2012
Investors: Founders Fund, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Shopify
Funding Raised: $1.5 billion
What Is the business model of Affirm?
Buy-now-pay-later fintech that allows consumers to finance online purchases with installment loans, earning revenue from merchant fees and interest
How Affirm got started?
Founded by PayPal co-founder Levchin to provide transparent, no-hidden-fee installment loans at point of sale, launching with select e-commerce partners in 2012
what growth strategy has Affirm followed?
Formed partnerships with major retailers to embed its financing option at checkout, and marketed itself as a friendlier alternative to credit cards to fuel adoption among millennials
what are the top products/features of Affirm
Affirm BNPL financing, Savings accounts, Returnly
what was the biggest challenge faced by Affirm?
Rising credit losses and regulatory scrutiny in the BNPL sector, especially as competition grew and consumer debt levels became a concern