# Nico Simko

> Nico Simko is the co-founder and CEO of Clair, a New York fintech that lets hourly workers tap their earned wages the moment a shift ends, with no interest and no mandatory fees. A former Swiss national-team fencer who captained the U17 squad before fencing at Harvard, he studied economics, worked an hourly campus job, then ran M&A due diligence on payments fintechs at J.P. Morgan. He founded Clair in 2019 after becoming obsessed with the idea that any employer should be able to pay people instantly. Clair embeds inside HR and payroll platforms and earns most of its money from debit-card interchange rather than worker fees. The company has raised hundreds of millions in equity and debt, including a $23.2M Series B in 2025 led by Upfront Ventures with Thrive Capital. Simko is a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree.

- **Role:** Co-Founder & CEO at Clair
- **Organizations:** Clair, J.P. Morgan (former), Swiss Fencing (former, national team)
- **Nationality:** Argentinian-Swiss
- **Education:** B.A. Economics, Harvard University
- **Known for:** Co-founded and leads Clair, an embedded earned wage access fintech serving employers and hourly workers., Named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list (Finance, North America, 2024)., Raised roughly $195M+ in combined equity and debt for Clair from investors including Upfront Ventures, Thrive Capital, Founder Collective, Kairos and Pathward.

## Career timeline

- **pre-college** — Begins fencing in Geneva; competes at Junior Olympics and multiple world championships; captains the Swiss U17 national fencing team.
- **2011** — Ranked 14th at the U17 world fencing championship in Jordan.
- **college** — Fences for Harvard University while studying economics and working an hourly campus job and as an economics tutor.
- **post-Harvard** — Joins J.P. Morgan, leading M&A and partnership due diligence on 10+ payments fintechs with a combined valuation over $25bn.
- **2019** — Co-founds Clair with Alex Kostecki and Erich Nussbaumer to make earned wages instantly accessible.
- **2021-2023** — Pivots Clair from a consumer banking app to an embedded B2B earned wage access engine inside HR and payroll platforms.
- **2024** — Named to Forbes 30 Under 30; publicly backs CFPB rulemaking on earned wage access.
- **2025** — Clair raises a $23.2M Series B led by Upfront Ventures with participation from Thrive Capital.

## Achievements

- Co-founded and leads Clair, an embedded earned wage access fintech serving employers and hourly workers.
- Named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list (Finance, North America, 2024).
- Raised roughly $195M+ in combined equity and debt for Clair from investors including Upfront Ventures, Thrive Capital, Founder Collective, Kairos and Pathward.
- Captained the Swiss U17 national fencing team and competed at the Junior Olympics and multiple world championships.
- Fenced for Harvard University.
- Led M&A due diligence on 10+ payments fintechs worth a combined $25bn+ at J.P. Morgan.

## Latest updates

- **2025-05** — Clair raised a $23.2M Series B led by Upfront Ventures with participation from Thrive Capital.
- **2024-05** — Publicly backed a CFPB rule proposal bringing earned wage access under clearer federal rules.

## Links

- Website: https://getclair.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/nsimko
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/getclair
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/getclairpay/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/nico-simko
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-03