X1 Credit Card: From Pandemic Pivot to Product-Market Fit
X1 founder Deepak Rao shares how his lending startup ThriveCash pivoted to a consumer credit card during COVID-19 when originations dropped to zero. By leveraging existing underwriting expertise and identifying gaps in credit card issuance for young professionals, X1 discovered a major market opportunity where traditional issuers were underserving high-income graduates.
Metrics in this report
100%
near-complete
College graduates applying for credit cards within 6 months of graduation (ThriveCash underwritten cohort)
12-24months
minimum to likely
Time required to launch regulated consumer credit card
3$ million
at April 2020
ThriveCash bank balance after 2 years of operations
1$ million
first year
ThriveCash lending volume (2018)
500$ thousand
initial
ThriveCash operating expenses
250$ thousand
post-cost-cutting
ThriveCash operating expenses after salary reductions
30$ million
run rate
ThriveCash 2019-2020 school year trajectory
1$ thousand
median/low-tier
Spending limit offered to rejected premium card applicants