Inc. Names Kikoff Founder Cynthia Chen to Its 2026 Female Founders 500 List

Inc.’s annual Female Founders list celebrates the nation’s most innovative women entrepreneurs.

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Kikoff, the leading consumer finance platform, is proud to announce that Cynthia Chen, Founder and CEO, has been named to Inc.’s 2026 Female Founders 500, an annual list honoring the most dynamic women business leaders in the United States. The honor recognizes founders whose bold ideas, resilience, and execution are shaping the future of their industries.

Each year, Inc. editors evaluate applications through a rigorous, multi-round selection process. Founders are assessed on both quantitative performance metrics, including revenue growth, funding, sales, and audience size, as well as qualitative factors such as innovation, social impact, and brand momentum. The final list represents entrepreneurs who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and measurable progress over the past year. Previous honorees have included such game-changing leaders as Billie Jean King, Sallie Krawcheck, Serena Williams, and Emma Grede — all of whom have transformed their industries and broken barriers along the way.

“I’m honored to be included on Inc.’s Female Founders 500. From the very beginning, building Kikoff has been about expanding access to financial security,” said Chen. “It’s incredibly meaningful to see how far we’ve come, and I’m proud of the team that continues to show up every day to give more people a fair shot at building their financial future.”

With a strong background in fintech, Chen has played key roles at several high-growth financial technology companies, including leadership positions at Figure and OnDeck. Under her leadership, Kikoff has grown into a comprehensive financial platform designed to help consumers build credit, reduce debt, access short-term liquidity, and recover money that may be owed to them. The company’s suite of products helps users improve their credit profiles, navigate financial setbacks, and uncover financial opportunities through technology, including AI-powered tools that identify and simplify ways for consumers to reclaim lost or overlooked funds.

In 2025, Kikoff achieved unicorn status and surpassed 4 million lifetime users. Since its founding, the platform has helped consumers build more than 240 million total credit points, a nationwide impact roughly equivalent to raising the average credit score of every adult in the United States by one point.

"Each year, we are increasingly amazed by the extraordinary leaders on our Inc. Female Founders 500 list,” says Bonny Ghosh, editorial director at Inc. “The honorees on this year’s list include innovators in AI, beauty and wellness trendsetters winning devoted fans, and nonprofit leaders making a real impact in their communities. Together, they’re showing all of us what trailblazing female leadership looks like.”

To learn more about Kikoff and its financial solutions, visit: kikoff.com.

About Inc.

Inc. is the leading media brand and playbook for the entrepreneurs and business leaders shaping our future. Through its journalism, Inc. aims to inform, educate, and elevate the profile of its community: the risk-takers, the innovators, and the ultra-driven go-getters who are creating the future of business. Inc. is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, along with fellow leading business publication Fast Company. For more information, visit www.inc.com.

About Kikoff

Kikoff is a personal finance platform on a mission to make financial security accessible to everyone. Through simple, radically affordable products powered by technology and AI, Kikoff helps people build credit, lower debt, and move toward lasting financial stability. To date, more than four million people have increased their credit scores by over 240 million points. Kikoff’s growing suite of products also helps users reduce debt, save money, access liquidity, and unlock greater financial opportunity. Learn more at Kikoff.com or by downloading the Kikoff app.