SABLE

Laidlaw Scholars Ventures is delighted to announce our third deal, a $1m investment into Sable, the neobank providing financial freedom to those who are underserved by today’s banking infrastructure. Sable has designed a bespoke credit engine that is able to onboard customers with thin or no credit files, then support them in developing their credit score, providing them access to credit cards three times faster than traditional banks.  

Their mission is to facilitate financial inclusion and open the banks’ black box that many find intimidating when thinking about their own credit, by guiding their customers through the behaviours they need to demonstrate to be creditworthy. Founder and Laidlaw Scholar Naveen Qureshi encountered this problem when she moved to NYC to complete her MBA at Columbia and discovered that despite a strong credit history in Canada, she was unable to get a credit card in the US. Even after her graduation, she still did not have the eligibility for a US card, as she had not started on a credit-building journey. Realising this was a huge problem, she teamed up with co-Founder and co-CEO Towers Wilen, and together they launched Sable.

They moved to San Jose and completed Y Combinator, the US’s most illustrious startup accelerator, and since then have managed to attract over 400,000 account holders in just over a year of their full launch. They have done this by offering this neglected market segment a premium product offering with quick opening of accounts, access to the platform before clients even arrive in the US, rewards and cashback, and importantly, their credit builder that helps clients build their credit score from day one.  

The growth that the business is experiencing right now is extremely exciting, but the main reason we invested in Sable was to support their highly experienced and driven management team to deliver. They have experience across American Express, Capital One, McKinsey and Stash, to name just a few sector titans and startups.

The importance of building a credit score in the US is far more extensive than it is in several other countries. Access to services such as mobile phone contracts or rental agreements is often linked to your credit score, so without the ability to use a credit card or develop your credit history, several other products and services become harder to access, perpetuating the inequality.  

Sable is seeking to break this cycle, and we are thrilled to be on their journey to develop borderless banking for a more connected world. If you are moving to the US or are a resident with limited credit history, they will support you in achieving financial freedom.  

If you are interested in learning more about Sable for partnership and job opportunities, believe you can help them achieve their goals, or simply wish to learn more about the team, do reach out to us at hello@laidlawscholarsventures.com.

Sable’s entry level product is a debit card and secured credit card. They provide customers clear insight into what they need to do in order to reach unsecured and provide them this service faster than any of their market competitors, relying on their proprietary credit engine for decisions. Their mobile app provides visibility of their customers spending and trajectory to unsecured for an underserved demographic, and they do this with a premium product experience that also provides services such as insurance and cashback on spending.

Prior to founding Sable, Naveen Qureshi completed her MBA as a Laidlaw Scholar at Columbia Business School. Upon moving to New York, she discovered that despite a strong credit history in Canada, she was unable to get a credit card in the US. When she met co-Founder and co-CEO Towers Wilen in class, they realized the magnitude of this problem, and together they launched Sable. They moved to San Jose and completed Y Combinator, the US’s most illustrious start-up accelerator, and have since managed to attract over 400,000 account holders in just over a year of their full launch.