NerdWallet reached about $44 million in revenue by 2014 without taking any outside equity money. Tim Chen started it in 2009 to answer the money questions people actually search for: which credit card, which mortgage, which savings account. Its articles ranked well on Google, and banks paid NerdWallet when readers signed up. When it went public in November 2021, it had grown from a side project into a household name in personal finance.

Built Without Venture Money

Tim Chen and Jacob Gibson co-founded NerdWallet in 2009. The bet was that clear, free advice would win trust, and that trust would turn into sign-ups. Banks and card issuers paid for those sign-ups. NerdWallet grew for years on its own revenue before it raised outside equity. It later added loans, insurance, and small business lending, and bought Fundera, a New York lending marketplace.

Ten Votes a Share

NerdWallet priced its offering at $18 a share in November 2021 and listed on Nasdaq under NRDS. Chen held Class B shares with ten votes each and stayed chief executive. Rising interest rates soon shrank demand for credit cards and loans, which hit NerdWallet's partners and its sales. The company kept investing in its app and its brand. NerdWallet still trades on Nasdaq as NRDS.

Cover: A Scholar in His Study (Faust), Rembrandt van Rijn. Art Institute of Chicago, public domain. Chosen for a scholar in his study (the nerd).