Cynthia Chen
Cynthia Chen is an American entrepreneur and the co-founder and chief executive officer of Kikoff.
Early life and education
Chen grew up in Beijing China before moving to the United States at age 17 to attend Columbia University.[1][2]
Career
Chen served as Chief Risk Officer for Figure Technology Solutions, and held senior executive roles at Capital One and OnDeck Capital.[3][4] In 2019, Chen co-founded Kikoff with Christophe Chong.[4][5] Kikoff provides users with an interest- and penalty-free revolving line of credit, used to make low-cost financial literacy purchases from its online store.[4][6] Payments toward the line of credit are reported to the major credit bureaus to help establish or improve users' credit and build a positive payment history.[6][2]
Legal matters
Christophe Chong
In 2026, Kikoff co-founder and former chief technology officer Christophe Chong filed a complaint against the company seeking to inspect its books and records, which he says are necessary to value his shares and investigate alleged misconduct by CEO and co-founder Cynthia Chen.[7] He alleges Chen took steps beginning in 2024 to consolidate control over the company's board and operations.[7]
A Kikoff spokesperson said, "While disputes among cofounders of successful businesses are common, the allegations in this lawsuit are meritless."[7]
References
- ↑ Cross, Miriam (June 30, 2021). "Fintech backed by NBA's Curry aims to help consumers build credit". American Banker. Retrieved July 30, 2026.
She grew up in Beijing, where she watched her parents borrow money to make large purchases and always repay their debt — but there was no credit system to reward their behavior.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Sams, Douglas (September 29, 2025). "Kikoff expands South of Market offices in race for AI talent". San Francisco Business Times. Retrieved July 30, 2026.
Chen came to the U.S. at 17 to attend Columbia and built a strong credit score by herself while still at school.
Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "sfbt-columbia" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Cross, Miriam (June 30, 2021). "Fintech backed by NBA's Curry aims to help consumers build credit". American Banker. Retrieved July 30, 2026.
Chen previously served as chief risk officer at Figure Technologies and held senior executive roles at Capital One and OnDeck.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Azevedo, Mary Ann (June 30, 2021). "Kikoff raises $30M for its hybrid consumer-credit and financial-literacy service". TechCrunch. Retrieved August 17, 2026.
- ↑ Rutz, Jarek (April 9, 2026). "Kikoff Co-Founder Seeks Records, Alleges CEO Self-Dealing". Law360. Retrieved July 30, 2026.
Chong and Chen co-founded Kikoff in 2019, building the Delaware-incorporated financial technology company into a business focused on helping consumers build credit.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Cross, Miriam (June 30, 2021). "Fintech backed by NBA's Curry aims to help consumers build credit". American Banker. Retrieved July 30, 2026.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Rutz, Jarek (April 9, 2026). "Kikoff Co-Founder Seeks Records, Alleges CEO Self-Dealing". Law360. Retrieved July 30, 2026.
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