FA Company Spotlight: Relief
The debt industry doesn’t whisper, it haunts. Every overdue notice is a gut-punch. Every “minimum payment” is a slow bleed. And while Wall Street engineered the plastic trap with precision, Main Street’s been left with ice packs and vague advice. That’s where Relief storms in, Miami-built and founder-fueled, with a playbook not of disruption, but of precision reprogramming. Founded in October 2020 by Jason Saltzman, Bryan Okeke, and Ram Berrouet, Relief isn’t just tech for tech’s sake. It’s a lifeline coded in accountability, and wrapped in empathy.
Jason Saltzman isn’t guessing here. Two decades in debt relief and co-founding Alley, the NYC incubator that saw the gig economy before it had a name, gave him sharp edges and a soft spot, for people buried in bills and ignored by banks. Bryan Okeke, CTO, doesn’t just write code, he architects momentum, with scalable apps and AI-driven design that flex like a gymnast and punch like a heavyweight. Ram Berrouet, the COO, is the systems guy with soul, he makes sure every user touchpoint moves like clockwork and feels like care. Together, they’ve turned debt relief into a user experience, not a courtroom negotiation.
Relief.app does what the legacy players won’t, it automates the entire dance. Link your credit card or personal loan, and the platform kicks off negotiations, no phone calls, no scripts, no shame. Approved settlements can knock 50% off your principal. No savings? No fees. No B.S. For federal student loans, it’s a GPS through the maze of forgiveness plans and income-driven nonsense, Relief picks the optimal route and walks users through the application like a digital Sherpa.
Proof? Within weeks of launching its waitlist, Relief racked up 200,000 signups, $750 million in eligible debt. That’s not traction. That’s a full-blown distress signal answered. The $2 million seed in July 2021, led by Collaborative Fund, turned heads. The $15 million Series A in February 2022, led by Nava Ventures, with big names like Ken Chenault Jr and Vikram Pandit, turned the table. $17 million raised, not to hype a prototype, but to weaponize a working product. NMLS compliant, AI tuned, and built for the 77% of Americans drowning in unsecured debt.
This isn’t just fintech, it’s fight tech. Relief.app is building more than software. It’s building dignity. It’s building exits. And it’s doing it as a majority-minority-owned team pushing tech culture beyond clichés and into communities that were never invited in.
They’re scaling. They’re not asking permission. Tap in if you want to build tech that saves lives, not just balance sheets.
Let’s connect and keep the momentum going across the tech ecosystem. Whether you’re a founder shaping the future, a leader driving change, a VC backing bold ideas, or an investor spotting the next big thing, together, we’re pushing boundaries. Proud to be building the future with you.
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