Cofounder Academy / 90 Day Blueprint to Improve your Credit Score

This single-page roadmap shows how the following eight micro-lessons line up with the 90-day action calendar. Come back to this anytime for quick links to the right section, or print it for quick reference as you work through the course.

Credit may feel like a consumer-finance problem, but lenders, landlords, suppliers, and even insurance underwriters treat your score as a snapshot of business risk. For founders—especially side-hustlers, solo operators, or entrepreneurs rebuilding after a setback—strong credit is often the difference between a “yes” and weeks of paperwork-driven delays. This lesson explains exactly why the number matters, so you can see the upside of improving it before we move into how.

Every founder actually has two credit records: a personal FICO file tied to a Social Security number and a business-credit file tied to an EIN/D-U-N-S number. Because young companies rarely have enough trade history to generate a business score, lenders judge the owner’s personal credit first. This module explains how the two systems differ, why new ventures default to personal credit, and the earliest steps you can take to start building a stand-alone business profile.

Welcome to Week 1 of your 90-day plan. If you can’t see your credit data, you can’t fix it. Founders who pull both personal and business credit reports early catch errors, spot fraudulent accounts, and track score gains from each 90-day sprint we cover in this course. This lesson shows the zero-cost tools that put those reports in your hands—no trial fees, no score‐deduction myths—and explains exactly how often to check.

Your credit score isn’t a mystery box. It’s calculated from five clearly defined ingredients, each one based on data found in your credit report. Knowing which factors matter most—and how to move them—turns a confusing three-digit number into a roadmap for Week 2 of your 90-day plan.

Weeks 3–4 of the 90-day plan focus on the two levers that can raise a score fastest: wiping out reporting errors and shrinking credit-card balances before the next statement closes. Most bureaus resolve disputes within 30-45 days, so the work you begin today can boost your score in time for next month’s lending conversations.

With errors fixed and utilization down, Weeks 4-8 shift to adding fresh, on-time data that sticks to both your personal and business credit files. The goal: stack low-risk accounts that report quickly

• vendor “Net-30” lines
• secured business credit cards
• and credit-builder loans
• Plus a personal-score bump via Experian Boost.

These moves keep scores climbing long after the quick wins.

By Weeks 8-12 your scores should be climbing. Now it is time to turn credit strength into capital by choosing the right product for your personal FICO, your business scores, and your funding goal. This lesson matches score tiers to real-world options, explains the new SBA 7(a) “Small Loan” threshold (SBSS 165 effective 1 Jun 2025), and gives you a paperwork checklist so you can move fast the moment you clear a tier.

Your score is not a one-time trophy. It rises or falls every month as new data posts. The final module shows how to lock in the gains from your 90-day sprint and keep credit damage from sneaking up on you. Three core practices do most of the work: automatic payments, disciplined utilization under 30 percent, and a simple quarterly credit review ritual.

This glossary explains key terms used throughout this course. It's written for anyone building a business from scratch, including those trying for the first time.