The NFX Podcast How a $500 TV Ad Turned Credit Karma into a $7B Empire w/ Ken Lin
Jul 1, 2025
Ken Lin, the founder and former CEO of Credit Karma, opens up about his remarkable journey from bootstrapping during the recession to a $7B acquisition by Intuit. He shares the story behind a game-changing $500 DIY TV ad and the pivotal strategy shifts that shaped the company. Lin sheds light on navigating tough partnerships, why he opted out of an IPO, and his insights on AI's future impact on personal finance. A fascinating exploration of resilience, innovative marketing, and ethical business practices awaits!
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Origin: Free Credit Scores As A Product
- Ken Lin started a marketing agency then combined free credit scores with profile data to found Credit Karma in 2006–2007.
- He gave away credit scores to build consumer profiles and attract financial partners.
Bootstrapped, Distributed, And Extremely Frugal
- Credit Karma began as a three-person distributed team and stayed extremely scrappy to survive the Great Recession.
- Ken says they only needed about $5M cumulative capital to build the business to scale.
$500 TV Spot Broke Growth
- A $500 DIY TV ad filmed with staff and Craigslist actors produced huge registration spikes and 50¢ CPA.
- That led Credit Karma to scale TV spend from zero to hundreds of millions annually.