# Andrew Housser

> Andrew Housser is the co-founder and co-CEO of Achieve, the consumer-finance business he started with Stanford classmate Brad Stroh as Freedom Financial Network in 2002. His background spans investment banking, private equity, debt relief and lending, alongside advisory and board roles in education and entrepreneurship.

- **Role:** Co-Founder and Co-CEO at Achieve
- **Organizations:** Achieve, Freedom Financial Network, Freedom Debt Relief, Bills.com, Littlejohn & Company, Salomon Smith Barney, Magnuson Center for Entrepreneurship at Dartmouth College, Brentwood College School, American Fair Credit Council
- **From:** Vancouver, Canada
- **Education:** Brentwood College School, BA, summa cum laude; Phi Beta Kappa, Dartmouth College, MBA; Arjay Miller Scholar, Stanford Graduate School of Business
- **Known for:** Co-founded Freedom Financial Network in 2002, now operating under the Achieve brand., Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2008, Northern California, jointly with Brad Stroh., Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal 40 Under 40 honoree, 2008.

## Career timeline

- **Before 2002** — Worked in investment banking at Salomon Smith Barney and private equity at Littlejohn & Company.
- **2002** — Co-founded Freedom Financial Network with Brad Stroh after graduating from Stanford GSB.
- **2005** — Co-founded Bills.com with Stroh.
- **2006** — Began service on the board of the organization later called the American Fair Credit Council, according to his company biography.
- **2008** — Shared the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award for Northern California with Stroh.
- **2011** — In his retrospective account, a Vulcan Capital investment closed July 21 amid a looming payroll shortfall.
- **2019** — Freedom Debt Relief resolved CFPB litigation with $20 million restitution and a $5 million civil penalty; the case against Housser individually was dismissed with prejudice.
- **2022** — Freedom Financial Network launched the Achieve brand on September 22.
- **2026** — Published commentary on personalized debt strategies using APIs and agentic AI, and on rent financing.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Freedom Financial Network in 2002, now operating under the Achieve brand.
- Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2008, Northern California, jointly with Brad Stroh.
- Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal 40 Under 40 honoree, 2008.
- AFCC President’s Award, 2010.
- Achieve reported more than one million consumers served, over $16 billion of debt resolved and over $7 billion of loans facilitated at its September 2022 brand launch.

## Latest updates

- **2026-08** — Commented on the affordability of predictable back-to-school expenses in Achieve research published August 25.
- **2026-07** — Published a July 24 LinkedIn article examining rent-now-pay-later products and distinguishing cash-flow timing from persistent affordability problems.
- **2026-04** — Authored an April 15 Achieve article about APIs, agentic AI and personalized multi-product debt strategies; a LinkedIn version appeared April 29.

## Links

- Website: http://andrew.housser.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-housser-112104
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/ahousser

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/andrew-housser
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-16