Jordan Miller, Co-founder and CEO of Yendo, was named an EY US Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2026 Southwest Award winner. Miller was selected among nearly 1,000 program participants that included 592 finalists across 17 regions competing for the title.
Jordan Miller co-founded Yendo in 2021 with George Utkov and Daniel Ashy to reshape consumer finance for the 65 million Americans who have historically been excluded by the archaic and expensive operating models at legacy lenders. Yendo’s thesis is simple: proprietary technology can break those operating models, replacing the low-utility that has historically left consumers worse off than when they started. Today, Yendo has saved its members over $250 million in interest and fees and offers a full suite of credit card products, including vehicle-secured, home-secured, and unsecured cards, giving Main Street Americans more choice, flexibility, and spending power than they’ve had from any other lender.
“Being named an EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award winner is a huge honor, and a testament to our entire team’s commitment to building a fairer financial system,” said Jordan Miller, CEO and co-founder of Yendo. “Millions of Americans have been locked out of affordable credit simply because of a number that doesn’t tell the whole story. This recognition fuels our mission to keep expanding access and opportunity for the consumers who need it most.”
Now in its 41st year, the Entrepreneur Of The Year program honors business leaders for their ingenuity, courage and entrepreneurial spirit. It celebrates original founders who bootstrapped their business from inception or raised outside capital to grow their company, transformational CEOs who infused innovation into an existing organization to catapult its trajectory and multigenerational family business leaders who reimagined a legacy business model to strengthen it for the future.
Regional winners were chosen by an independent panel of past winners, top CEOs and business leaders. Judges assessed candidates on long-term value creation, entrepreneurial spirit, purpose-driven commitment, and significant growth and impact.
As a Southwest award winner, Miller will now be considered by the national judges for the Entrepreneur Of The Year 2026 National Awards, which will be presented in November at the annual Strategic Growth Forum®, where high-growth CEOs, Fortune 1000 executives and investors converge to shape the future of business. The National Overall Award winner will move on to compete for the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Award in May 2027.
The Entrepreneur Of The Year program has recognized the leadership of entrepreneurs such as:
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● Jason McGowan, Crumbl Cookies ● Reid Hoffman | Jeff Weiner, LinkedIn Corp. ● Saeju Jeong, Noom ● Allison Ellsworth | Stephen Ellsworth, Poppi ● Jitendra Mohan | Sanjay Gajendra | Casey Morrison, Astera Labs |
● Shelly Ibach, Sleep Number ● Howard Schultz, Starbucks Coffee Company ● Holly Thaggard | Amanda Baldwin, Supergoop! ● Jodi L. Berg, Vita-Mix Corporation ● Michael Happe, Winnebago Industries ● Arthur Blank, Atlanta Falcons, The Home Depot, Georgia Force |
Sponsors
Founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards include presenting sponsors PNC Bank, Cresa, LLC, Marsh Risk, SAP and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. In the Southwest region, sponsors also include regional Platinum sponsor, Haynes and Boone, regional Gold sponsor, Big Picture, and regional Silver sponsors, ADP, EOS Worldwide and Pierpont Communications.
About Entrepreneur Of The Year
Founded in 1986, Entrepreneur Of The Year® has celebrated more than 11,000 ambitious visionaries who are leading successful, dynamic businesses in the US, and it has since expanded to nearly 60 countries and territories globally.
The US program consists of 17 regional programs whose panels of independent judges select the regional award winners every June. Those winners compete for national recognition at the Strategic Growth Forum® in November where national finalists and award winners are announced. The national overall winner represents the US at the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year™ competition. Visit ey.com/us/eoy.
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EY refers to the global organization and may refer to one or more of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. Information about how EY collects and uses personal data and a description of the rights individuals have under data protection legislation are available via ey.com/privacy. EY member firms do not practice law where prohibited by local laws. For more information about our organization, please visit ey.com.
EY refers to the global organization and may refer to one or more of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. Information about how EY collects and uses personal data and a description of the rights individuals have under data protection legislation are available via ey.com/privacy. EY member firms do not practice law, where prohibited by local laws. For more information about our organization, please visit ey.com.
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