JAY-Z Invests In Perch Credit App Aimed At Helping Minorities Boost Credit Scores

Jay-Z continues to use his power and influence to help the minority community.

The Brooklyn emcee turned serial entrepreneur has become a key investor in the Perch Credit App, which aims to boost the credit scores of those in underserving communities. According to the app’s website, Perch, which was founded by Michael Broughton and Ayush Jain, “allows users to log their recurring payments — such as subscriptions or rent — as credit history to improve their credit scores immediately.” Perch was founded in 2019 and secured a $2.5 million investment to launch the app.

Marcy Venture Projects (MVP), which was co-founded by Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter, Jay Brown and venture capitalist Larry Marcus, will allow Perch access to free financial literacy and credit building content.

Broughton, 22, spoke exclusively to Yahoo! Finance about Perch Credit securing the co-sign from JAY-Z’s Marcy Venture Projects in an interview. “Yeah, definitely not easy. I came from a background where I was never even exposed to venture capital or working with investors. And it wasn’t until YC and meeting Michael that I really started learning how to get engaged, how to start talking to VCs and start raising capital. I got told no over 100 times before we got our first check.”

Broughton’s goal is to help 100,000 people and he was inspired to launch his product after spending most of his life overseas and not even being exposed to venture capital.

“So when it comes to Perch, we realize that accessibility is one of our strongest features and attributes. Anyone, from an international student to a low income individual, to someone just now entering the US, can all use the platform to start building credit. We focus on cash flow underwriting, so using basic things like if you’re paying your Netflix, if you’re paying your rent, as determinants for whether or not you can actually use the app.”