When Jordan Miller founded Yendo, a fintech startup that provides secured credit cards for vehicles, he wanted to dive headfirst into a challenge.

“People want to work on payments or things for very high net worth individuals,” Miller told me over Zoom. “But access to cheap credit, in a way that gives people the tools to finance their daily lives without pressure… It’s a really dirty problem, a Middle American problem. To be completely honest, a lot of predatory lending is illegal in California and New York, where most fintech innovation comes from. Nobody has really solved this problem.

Dallas-based Yendo has now raised $150 million in debt financing, led by i80 Group, and $15 million in equity, Fortune exclusively reports. The startup is growing, with a long waiting list, and plans to expand to all 50 states.

Yendo’s idea is essentially this: Car-secured loans have historically performed well because people need their cars and often own them outright.

“We wanted to find an asset class that was the most universally owned and understood so we could provide the absolute lowest possible cost of capital,” Miller said.

Therefore, a vehicle warranty credit card can help subprime consumers access a prime rate. (Yendo’s fixed APR is 29.88%. For reference, Amex’s variable APR is between 19.24% and 29.99% and Chase Sapphire’s variable APR goes up to 29, 99%.) Yendo’s goal is to provide comparable access to those who would not have previously had Esso. “We are both internally and externally locked into our primary rate,” Millet said. “We literally cannot go beyond the current rate.”

This gets to the essence of the biggest outstanding question: How does Yendo keep its product from becoming predatory? How can they meet the need in the market for truly reliable credit, for everyone?

The argument Miller makes is that Yendo’s entire business model will falter if they have to start repossessing cars with any kind of frequency: that would mean the subscription model has failed.

Wesley Chan, co-founder and managing partner of FPV Ventures, had the exact same question as he was carefully analyzing the company and its underwriting process.

“We sat down, looked at his numbers and said, ‘Who do you let in?’” Chan says. “We’ve talked to the team that underwrites it and they want people who will pay them back. The more they own the car, the more they use it, the more they stay loyal to Yendo, the more money they make… They want people to stay with them forever rather than rip them off.

Yendo’s total addressable market is close to $120 billion, the company estimates, and is subject to the same regulatory review that all banking products undergo, Miller tells me. And the company’s customer “is the everyday working person, between the ages of 35 and 50,” Miller said.

“They live in Waxahachie, Texas, Orlando, Florida, or Auburn, Alabama,” he added. “They’re trying to go to school or figure out how to pay for their kids’ books.”

I spoke with one of these clients, Mela Lewis-Moss, a social worker and mother of five, who was referred to me by the company. She praised the app’s ease of use and told me that, even when she accidentally missed a payment, she didn’t feel stressed: Lewis-Moss felt the company treated that moment as a misunderstanding, rather than as an opportunity to penalize her. . For Lewis-Moss, the text-forwarding nature of the customer experience in Yendo really worked.

“You feel like someone is there for you,” Lewis-Moss said, adding that the texting mechanism is intimate and immediate, and builds trust.

How will Miller know, in the coming years, whether Yendo has succeeded and avoided becoming the predatory lender it hopes to replace? I tell him we should plant a flag and he is direct.

“Killing securities lending is a good indicator of success,” he said.

You might say the goal is to give credit where it’s due, in general.

See you tomorrow,

Allie Garfinkle
Twitter: @agarfinks
E-mail: alexandra.garfinkle@fortune.com
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Joe Abrams edited the offers section of today’s newsletter.

BUSINESS BUSINESS

– Alkiraa San Jose, California-based on-demand network infrastructure provider has raised $100 million in Series C funding. Global tiger management led the lap and was joined by Dallas Venture Capital, Geodesic capital, NextEquity Partnersand existing investors.

– Genius covera New York-based provider of integrated insurance technology designed to protect e-commerce customers, has raised $80 million in Series E funding. Spark Capital led the round and was joined by existing investors Alba Capital, Capital of King RiverAND G square.

– Stenoa Los Angeles, California-based developer of court reports and other legal technologies has raised $46 million in funding. Capital of the left lane led the lap and was joined by Trinity Capital AND Rivonia Capital Road.

– May Healtha company based in Menlo Park, California and Paris, France developing a treatment designed to restore ovulation in women with polycystic ovary syndrome, has raised $25 million in Series B funding. Bpifrance AND Trill Impact Ventures they led the round and were joined by the founding investor Sofinnova partner.

– Port laboratoryan Athens, Greece-based developer of accounting software for marine operations has raised $16 million in Series A funding. Atomic led the round and was joined by existing investors Notional Capital, Adventure friends, Speedinvest, The pierand other.

– trawaa Berlin, Germany-based energy purchasing and management platform for small and medium-sized businesses has raised €10 million ($10.8 million) in seed funding. Balderton Capital led the lap and was joined by AENU and existing investors Speedinvest, MagneticAND TinyVC.

– Recall.aia San Francisco-based developer of AI technology for video conferencing has raised $10 million in funding. Ridge Ventures led the lap and was joined by Industry initiatives, Y combinator, IrregEx, Capital Bungalow, Hacking VCand other.

– Orange magazinea San Francisco-based developer of electric vehicle chargers has raised $6.5 million in seed funding. Monaco Re Ventures AND Climate they led the tour and were joined by Baukunst, Lincoln Properties Ventures, Crow SealsAND Space Cadet Initiatives.

– Layera San Francisco-based company designed to help software companies integrate accounting and accounting features directly into their platforms, has raised $2.3 million in pre-seed funding. Better initiatives of tomorrow he led the ride and was joined by others.

– c/sidea San Francisco-based cybersecurity platform that monitors and protects third-party scripts has raised $1.7 million in pre-seed funding. Scribble Ventures led the lap and was joined by Roar Ventures, Kathy Korevec, Dan Scheinmann, Jason Warnerand other.

– Numraan AI-powered automation platform for finance and accounting teams based in Dublin, Ireland, has raised €1.5 million ($1.6 million) in funding. Elkstone led the round and was joined by angel investors.

PRIVATE HORSE RIDING

– CallRevusupported by Serenti Capitalacquired Total CX, a Houston, Texas-based customer communications platform for automotive dealerships. Financial terms were not disclosed.

– Gregory FCAsupported by Copley Equityacquired BackBay Communications, a public relations firm based in Boston, Massachusetts and London, United Kingdom, for the financial services industry. Financial terms were not disclosed.

– Hansonsa portfolio company of Capital of the Huronacquired Manufacturers of primary importance, a roofing, replacement window and siding contractor based in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Financial terms were not disclosed.

– PANOS brandsa portfolio company of HKWacquired The Santa Barbara Smokehouse, a smoked salmon producer based in Santa Barbara, California. Financial terms were not disclosed.

EXITS

– Capital of Avathon agreed to acquire Top professional traininga Franklin, Tennessee-based professional training platform for physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech-language pathology, from Greybull Management. Financial terms were not disclosed.

– Sweets estatesa portfolio company of Bain Capitalacquired Kenny’s Big Cakesa cream based pie manufacturer located in Smyrna, Georgia, from Partner Kaho. Financial terms were not disclosed.

FUNDS + FUNDS OF FUNDS

– Actiona Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit has raised $152.5 million for its digital transformation fund focused on financial institutions serving small businesses.

– Shillingthe venture capital division based in Lisbon, Portugal Draycott SCRhave raised €50 million ($54.4 million) for their first Opportunities Fund focused on companies digitizing healthcare, SaaS, e-commerce and other industries, and other technology companies.

PEOPLE

– Diversified compass (New York: CODI)a private equity firm based in Westport, Connecticut Alex Mayes to the vice president.

– VC Pillara venture capital firm based in Boston, Massachusetts, promoted Parker McKee, Tony KulesaAND Thomas de Vlaam collaborate.

– RF Investment Partnera New York-based private equity firm, hired James Bishop as director and Daniel Kim as an associate. Previously, Bishop was with Golub growth AND Kim was with Frontier growth.

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