James Gutierrez has built his career on the concept of economic fairness. These beliefs were born from being part of a family that fought tirelessly for the social justice of Latinos. When it came time to contribute to a cause, James Gutierrez focused on making sure even those in low-income communities had the ability to obtain decent credit scores. The drive behind this notion came from research he performed at Stanford, citing that inadequate credit caused the working class to need more money for products.
James Gutierrez created Opportun, formerly known as Progreso Financiero, to help families by offering $1,200 microloans. This enabled the recipients to take their first steps towards building credit for themselves. Other than the acquisition of credit, he also believes that the formation of a business empowers families to move up the financial ladder. The faith placed in the families paid off as every borrower repaid their loans in full.
James Gutierrez followed up this venture by devising a series of loan kiosks under the name of Aura. Placed inside local markets, the goal was to provide easy access to loan information and thereby build trust within the communities. Gutierrez accomplished an increase in the loans offered, as well as saving individuals over $500 million when compared to the predatory lenders they were often faced with. His next project is building a mobile platform that combines risk scores and payment technology in order to provide financial stability to underserved communities.
As a graduate of Seizing Every Opportunity, James Gutierrez plans to continue utilizing the nonprofit’s teachings in new areas, such as tackling the issues students of color have within the education system. He also sits on the Silicon Valley Leadership Group board as the Vice-Chair. This trade association fights to offer employees fair quality-of-life measures and opportunities.
Learn more about James: https://www.f6s.com/jamesgutierrez