From immigrating to the United States at age 11 to building TomoCredit, Kristy Kim reflects on the lessons, relationships, and risks that shaped her entrepreneurial journey.
When people ask me what led me to build TomoCredit, they’re often looking for a single defining moment.
The reality is much less straightforward. Like most entrepreneurial journeys, mine was shaped by a series of experiences, challenges, and lessons that gradually influenced the way I see opportunity, risk, and access.
Recently, I found myself reflecting on the qualities that have had the greatest impact on my journey as a founder. Three themes kept surfacing: curiosity, adaptability, and trust. Looking back, those lessons show up in nearly every major chapter of my life, from immigrating to the United States as a child to working in investment banking and eventually launching TomoCredit.
The Curiosity That Led to TomoCredit
I’ve always been curious. As a child, I asked endless questions. As an adult, not much has changed.
That curiosity is one of the reasons TomoCredit exists today.
Before becoming a founder, I worked in investment banking. On paper, I had done everything right. I graduated from college, built a successful career, and had enough money in my bank account to purchase a car outright. Yet when I applied for a loan, I was denied.
The reason wasn’t income or employment. It was credit history.
I remember feeling completely confused. How could someone be financially responsible and still be locked out of the financial system?
The more I learned, the more questions I had. Why were so many people being judged by a system that often failed to capture their actual financial behavior? Why were immigrants, students, and young professionals struggling to access opportunities despite having the ability to succeed?
What started as a personal frustration eventually became a mission. The more I learned, the more I realized that millions of people were facing similar barriers. That curiosity ultimately became the foundation for TomoCredit.
Learning to Adapt Before I Knew What Entrepreneurship Was
Long before I became a founder, I had to learn how to adapt.
When I was 11 years old, I left South Korea and moved to the United States to attend school. I left behind everything that was familiar and moved in with a host family.
At the time, I didn’t fully appreciate how difficult that decision must have been for my parents. I was excited about the opportunity. Looking back now, I understand how much courage and trust it required from them.
That experience taught me something that has continued to serve me throughout my career: very few things go according to plan.
The transition from finance to entrepreneurship was filled with uncertainty. Building a startup required me to learn skills I never anticipated needing, navigate challenges I couldn’t have predicted, and make decisions without having all the information I wished I had.
Today, adaptability feels more important than ever. Technology is evolving rapidly, industries are changing, and entire categories of work are being redefined. The people who thrive won’t necessarily be the ones with all the answers. They’ll be the ones willing to keep learning and adjusting as circumstances change.
The Power of Relationships
Many of the most meaningful opportunities in my life came through relationships I invested in over time.
Not because I needed something from someone. Not because I was collecting business cards. But because I genuinely cared about building connections with people.
Whether you’re building a company, hiring a team, raising capital, or launching a new product, very little happens alone. People remember whether you show up, follow through, and are willing to help when there’s nothing immediately in it for you.
Trust is built through countless small actions that often seem insignificant in the moment but become incredibly meaningful over time.
At TomoCredit, relationships have been central to everything we’ve built. From our customers and employees to investors and partners, every step of the company’s growth has been made possible by people who believed in our mission and chose to support it.
The Greatest Gift My Parents Ever Gave Me
Both of my parents are entrepreneurs in South Korea. Growing up, I watched them build businesses, solve problems, and navigate the realities of entrepreneurship long before I understood what any of those things meant.
They taught me resilience, responsibility, and the importance of hard work. But the most impactful thing they ever gave me wasn’t advice.
It was trust.
When I was 11 years old and wanted to move to the United States, they could have easily said no. Looking back now, I can only imagine how frightening that decision must have been. Instead, they chose to trust me. They believed in me before I had accomplished anything that would justify that belief.
That trust changed the way I viewed myself and what I believed was possible.
Every major chapter of my life since then has required stepping into uncertainty. Moving across the world. Working in investment banking. Starting TomoCredit. Raising capital. Building a team. Launching new products.
None of those decisions came with guarantees.
What my parents taught me is that waiting for certainty is often a losing strategy. Progress usually requires conviction, preparation, and a willingness to move forward despite uncertainty. It also helps to have people who believe in you and provide a foundation strong enough to support those risks.
The Lessons Behind TomoCredit
When people look at TomoCredit today, they see a financial technology company focused on helping people build credit and access opportunities. What they don’t always see are the experiences and lessons that shaped the company’s mission in the first place.
TomoCredit exists because I was curious enough to question a system that didn’t make sense. It exists because I learned to adapt when plans changed. And it exists because people believed in me long before there was evidence that they should.
Looking back, those lessons have shaped far more than my career. They’ve shaped the way I approach life. And I suspect they’ll continue to do so for many years to come.
Editor’s Note: Kristy Kim recently discussed her entrepreneurial journey, leadership philosophy, and personal story in an interview with Bold Journey. Read the full interview here.