Emerging LA
Posts
🌴 Kleiner Perkins-backed Fizz joins our Founder Chat Q&A

🌴 Kleiner Perkins-backed Fizz joins our Founder Chat Q&A

#050: Signup to listen or get the recording of Founder Chat with Fizz, the Gen Z fintech raised $14M from KP & Y Combinator to build the Chime for college students

Emerging LA
May 14, 2025

In partnership with

Emerging LA is a community of 14K founders, investors, & operators focused on applying emerging technologies in traditional industries. We have curated 50+ events for members who share our mission of making LA a world-class startup ecosystem.

TLDR: Issue #050 Summary

Sign up for Q&A webinar with our guest Scott Smith (Founder of Fizz)
- Scott dropped out of Cornell to build Fizz at Y Combinator
- Fizz is the Chime for college students
- Raised $14M+ from top-tiers like Kleiner Perkins
Poll: Interested to learn more about Fizz?
- Let us know if you would like to invest, partner, or work at Fizz

AI to help college students master money

Fizz is building the first debit card designed to help students build credit — no fees, no interest, no credit checks.

Think: Chime for college students, but with AI and much smarter.

The app pairs powerful credit-building infrastructure with real financial education, custom rewards, smart spend tracking, and campus-specific perks across the country.

Fizz is using credit-building to wedge into the $100B+ Gen Z financial services market.

Going beyond the banking card, Fizz has built out AI to help college students better manage and master their money. They can:

Build credit on auto-pilot
Budget for life after graduation
Understand credit scores
Become a financial guru (from insurance to investing)

It combines strong early traction, near-instant CAC payback, and high engagement to create a sticky, defensible product ecosystem.

Backed by top-tier firms like Kleiner Perkins, Fizz is live on over 50 campuses and is quickly becoming Gen Z's #1 money app.

❝

“Fizz’s commitment to financial education and credit-building for Gen Z sets it apart in the fintech landscape. The startup's success reflects a growing demand for tailored financial solutions for young adults."

Global Village Space