The Action Layer Episode 2: Cynthia Chen, Co-Founder and CEO of Kikoff
Atomic Team
The Action Layer is a video interview series from Atomic exploring the space between fintech ideas and real-world outcomes. At SF Fintech Week, Atomic CEO and Co-Founder Jordan Wright sat down with founders, investors, and operators to discuss what's actually working, what's breaking in practice, and what it takes to turn innovation into real impact. New episodes drop weekly — follow along on YouTube.
Cynthia Chen came to the U.S. at 17 with no credit history, no co-signer, and no family financial network. On her 18th birthday she didn't throw a party, she spent the night in her dorm's computer lab researching credit card options. By graduation she had a 730 credit score, her first car, her first apartment, and a job offer from Capital One. She spent 15 years there watching millions of people get declined for the exact same reasons she almost was.
That's the founding story of Kikoff. And in this episode, Cynthia and Jordan get into what it actually takes to help people not just understand their credit situation, but change it.
They cover the gap between showing someone their credit score and actually doing something about it and why that gap matters more than most fintech companies want to admit. How Kikoff built an AI-powered debt negotiation tool that deploys agents to negotiate with collectors on a consumer's behalf, right now, not someday. And what it means to build for the one in three Americans with a credit score below 600 that most financial institutions have historically passed on.
The conversation also gets into the harder questions. How do you keep investing in new products when your existing one already has momentum? What does AI actually do well for consumers today, and where is it still falling short? And what would it look like if the mortgage process — one of the most painful financial experiences in a person's life — finally got the AI treatment it deserves?
In this episode:
00:00:54 — What Kikoff is and how it started
00:03:38 — The difference between showing a credit score and actually changing it
00:05:08 — Why something has to be done to the actual debt for a credit profile to improve
00:06:04 — How Kikoff's AI-powered debt negotiation tool works
00:08:14 — Serving the demographic most financial institutions have passed on
00:09:21 — Becoming the first Spanish-language credit builder app and what happened next
00:10:46 — One in three Americans has a credit score below 600
00:12:28 — How Kikoff found its way to debt negotiation through customer service queues
00:16:04 — Cynthia's personal story: arriving in the U.S. at 17 with no credit and no co-signer
00:17:50 — Spending her 18th birthday in a computer lab applying for her first credit card
00:18:59 — How that experience led to 15 years at Capital One and eventually Kikoff
00:21:40 — What AI should do next for consumers — starting with the mortgage process
About Cythnia Chen
Cynthia Chen is the co-founder and CEO of Kikoff, a mission-driven fintech company helping people build credit and improve financial health. Before starting Kikoff, she held leadership roles at companies like Figure, OnDeck, and Capital One. Cynthia earned both her Bachelor of Arts in Economics & Operations Research and a Master in Mathematics of Finance from Columbia University. Her personal experiences with limited access to credit have driven her commitment to creating financial solutions that promote inclusion and accessibility.
