Ep 339 - The Hustle Behind Lenderlink

EPISODE INTRODUCTION

Christo Georgiev, co-founder and CEO of LenderLink, a credit data platform bridging gaps in the Philippines’ lending ecosystem, joins us to talk about the credit data revolution he’s spearheading in the Philippines. From growing up in post-communist Bulgaria to building startups across three continents, Christo shares how he’s tackling one of the country’s most persistent financial problems: fragmented credit information. He dives into lessons from early failures, leading FinScore through the pandemic, and why he left a successful exit to start again. Christo breaks down how LenderLink is changing the game by connecting financial institutions, aggregating credit data in real time, and giving millions of Filipinos better access to formal credit. If you're into fintech, startup grit, or building infrastructure that actually makes lives better, this one's for you.

Episode Timeline: 

[00:03:03] - What is LenderLink and the credit access gap in the Philippines

[00:09:41] - Christo's origin story: Growing up in Bulgaria

[00:15:00] - First entrepreneurial attempt

[00:17:51] - The lessons during the first attempt

[00:24:57] - Moving to Manila: Setting up operations for Paragon

[00:28:38] - Cultural differences and leadership lessons

[00:33:15] - Work with PokerStars

[00:34:51] - Building FinScore and the evolution of digital lending

[00:41:59] - Startup war stories from FinScore

[00:46:23] - Why Christo started LenderLink

[00:52:54] - Lessons from FinScore applied to LenderLink

[00:57:44] - Assembling a world-class team

[01:02:22] - Fundraising Journey of Lenderlink

[01:09:36] - What’s next for LenderLink

[01:12:04] - Fundraising tips for early-stage founders

QUOTES
It's absolutely normal that you need to speak to as many people as possible… You need to have all these meetings. You need to very carefully listen to the type of feedback, to the type of questions that are being asked and constantly reiterate, reiterate, both your product as well as your pitch in order to match the right type of narrative that immediately makes  it clear what you're offering and that gets you to a yes - Christo Georgiev

CONNECT WITH CHRISTO:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christo-georgiev-40bb0156/ 

Website: https://lenderlink.ph

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