The Los Angeles fintech approves about nine of ten shoppers for the purchases nobody plans for - car repairs, root canals, new glasses, the dog's surgery - and charges no fees of any kind. Here is how a rejected loan application became a billion-dollar company.

Chris Boudreaux is a fintech professional and co-founder associated with Cherry (withcherry.com), a San Francisco-based healthcare financing platform trusted by over 60,000 medical providers across the United States. Cherry enables patients to access flexible, interest-free payment plans for elective medical procedures - dental, plastic surgery, medspas, and veterinary care - while giving providers same-day upfront payment. Based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Boudreaux operates at the intersection of financial technology and healthcare access, helping expand Cherry's reach across the healthcare provider ecosystem.