# Lamine Zarrad

> Lamine Zarrad is the founder and CEO of StellarFi, an Austin-based fintech that reports everyday bill payments to the three major credit bureaus so Americans with thin or no credit files can build a score without taking on debt. A refugee from Soviet-era Azerbaijan who sold pirated VHS tapes in a Moscow chemical lab as a teenager, he went on to serve in the Marine Corps, work as a National Bank Examiner at the OCC, and build three fintech startups in a decade. StellarFi raised a $15M Series A in March 2023 led by Acrew Capital, and its members average a 26-point credit-score jump in their first month.

- **Role:** Founder and CEO at StellarFi
- **Organizations:** StellarFi, Joust, Tokken, ZenBusiness, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Merrill Lynch, U.S. Marine Corps
- **From:** Baku, Azerbaijan
- **Nationality:** American (born in Azerbaijan)
- **Education:** Master's degree in public policy, University of Texas at Austin
- **Known for:** Founder and CEO of StellarFi, raising a $15M Series A in March 2023 led by Acrew Capital (total funding ~$36.2M), Three-time fintech founder operating in heavily regulated finance, Built Joust, acquired by ZenBusiness, contributing to one of Austin's unicorn companies

## Career timeline

- **2008** — Began career in financial services at Merrill Lynch
- **circa 2010s** — Served as a National Bank Examiner at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC)
- **2014** — Founded Tokken, a fintech enabling secure payments between banks and cannabis businesses
- **2017** — Founded Joust, providing business banking for the self-employed
- **2020** — Joust acquired by ZenBusiness; Zarrad led the product organization through two raises as the company became an Austin unicorn
- **2021** — Founded StellarFi
- **2023** — StellarFi raised $15M Series A led by Acrew Capital

## Achievements

- Founder and CEO of StellarFi, raising a $15M Series A in March 2023 led by Acrew Capital (total funding ~$36.2M)
- Three-time fintech founder operating in heavily regulated finance
- Built Joust, acquired by ZenBusiness, contributing to one of Austin's unicorn companies
- StellarFi members average a 26-point credit-score increase in their first month
- StellarFi purchased and forgave roughly $50 million in consumer debt
- Veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps
- Former National Bank Examiner at the OCC

## Latest updates

- **2023-03** — StellarFi announced a $15M Series A led by Acrew Capital, planning to double headcount.
- **2023-09** — Appeared on the Leaders in Payments podcast (Episode 259) discussing StellarFi's mission.

## Links

- Website: https://stellarfi.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laminezarrad/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/getStellarFi
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/GetStellarFi

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/lamine-zarrad
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-11