Perch

Series ARaised Since Featured

Build credit, effortlessly

Credit-building app that reports recurring subscription payments like Netflix and Spotify to credit bureaus.

Founded January 2019Los Angeles, CA11-50 people$21M raisedFeatured at Seed

altro.io inLinkedIn Y Combinator

FintechCreditConsumerMobile AppFinancial InclusionSubscriptions

About

Perch (now Altro) is a fintech app that helps credit-invisible Americans build their credit scores by reporting recurring subscription payments — Netflix, Spotify, Hulu, and other services — directly to the three major US credit bureaus. Founded by Michael Broughton and Ayush Jain at the University of Southern California, the app was born from Broughton's personal experience of being denied a student loan due to lack of credit history despite a clean financial record. Perch can backlog up to two years of on-time payments, allowing users to see a meaningful credit score boost in under 30 days. The company rebranded to Altro in early 2022 and raised an $18M Series A led by Pendulum with participation from Jay-Z's Marcy Venture Partners, Citi Ventures, and others, bringing total funding to $21M. The platform has expanded to include the Altro Credit Builder Card, available in 47 states through a partnership with Hatch Bank and Discover Global Network.

DailyDropout Take

Perch stood out as a simple but powerful idea — let people build credit just by paying for Netflix. Founded by two USC students who experienced credit barriers firsthand, the company attracted backing from Jay-Z and Y Combinator before most fintech apps were thinking about credit-invisible Americans. The rebrand to Altro and $18M Series A validated the thesis.

Discovery signal: YC W20 batch, Jay-Z backing at seed stage, founder-market fit (personal credit access story), rapid user growth among Gen Z

What Makes Them Unique

Perch (Altro) was one of the first apps to let users build credit by simply connecting their existing streaming subscriptions — no new credit lines, no deposits, and no fees. The ability to backlog up to two years of payment history creates an immediate credit score impact that competitors cannot match.

$21M

Total Raised

$50M pre-money

Series A Valuation

States Available

Target Markets

Credit-invisible AmericansGen ZStudentsUnderbanked communities

Founders

Michael Broughton

Co-Founder & CEO

USC graduate from a military family of nine. Was denied a student loan due to lack of credit history, which inspired him to build Perch. Named to Forbes 30 Under 30.

Ayush Jain

Co-Founder & CTO

USC graduate who co-founded Perch Credit through the university's entrepreneurship club Sigma Eta Pi. Leads technical development.

Funding History

Pre-Seed$500K

Jan 1, 2020

Lead: Y Combinator

Y Combinator

Seed$2.5M

Feb 1, 2021

Lead: Marcy Venture Partners

Marcy Venture Partners (Jay-Z)Concrete Rose CapitalBackstage CapitalSoftBank Opportunity FundSequoia Scout Fund

Strategic$4M

Dec 1, 2021

Lead: Various

Chris PaulTinasheQuavoMarshawn Lynch

Series A$18M

May 1, 2022

Lead: Pendulum

PendulumMarcy Venture PartnersCiti VenturesBlack Capital FundConcrete Rose Fund

Investors

Firms

Pendulum(Lead — Series A)Marcy Venture Partners(Lead — Seed)Y Combinator(Lead — Pre-Seed)Citi VenturesConcrete Rose CapitalBackstage CapitalSoftBank Opportunity FundBlack Capital Fund