Minneapolis fintech company Sezzle is among the national winners of 2025’s Entrepreneur of the Year Awards.

Entrepreneur of the Year is Ernst & Young’s annual competition honoring business leaders for “entrepreneurial spirit, purpose, growth, and impact.” This week, the program announced recipients of 10 awards at the national level. Sezzle, a buy-now-pay-later service that launched in 2017, took the spot in the “Financial Services and FinTech” category.

According to judges’ feedback, Sezzle is “redefining ethical finance as it builds credit histories, encourages responsible spending, and expands access to payment options,” as quoted on the EY website.

Sezzle CEO and co-founder Charlie Youakim emphasized the work of his team, with the company beating out four finalists. “Over the years, we’ve built a company grounded in purpose, focused on financial empowerment, access, and doing what’s right for our consumers, merchants, and partners,” he said in a statement to TCB, noting, “We’re proud that journey has been rooted in Minneapolis.”

The Sezzle app allows users to pay for purchases over time, in interest-free installments. It’s aimed at younger adults who may lack loan-payment history and struggle to access credit. Sezzle launched as competitors like Klarna and Affirm began to gain U.S. traction.

“When [Youakim’s] original concept of a debit-based payment processor didn’t take off, he transformed Sezzle into one of the first [buy-now-pay-later] platforms in the U.S.,” EY states in its winner profile of Youakim.

Sezzle’s story has been an interesting one to watch. In 2019, the company launched an IPO in Australia—because the country was “about five years ahead” of the United States in terms of payment technology, current president and executive director Paul Paradis told TCB at the time. Sezzle began trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange in 2023. This year has been a wild one, with Sezzle’s stock more than tripling earlier in the year before dropping sharply.

The U.S. Entrepreneur of the Year program consists of 17 regional programs, with panels of independent judges selecting regional winners each June. (Youakim was a regional winner for Sezzle in 2021, as well.)

The regional winners competed in November’s Strategic Growth Forum for national recognition. From 221 regional winners, the competition narrowed to 10 national awards.

“Over the years, these visionaries have shaped industries, inspired generations and continually redefined what’s possible,” Andrew Jordan, co-director of EY Americas Entrepreneur of the Year, said in a press release. “The class of 2025 is no exception. Their achievements are a testament to the enduring power of entrepreneurship and the limitless potential of those who dare to lead.”

This year’s “National Overall” winner is Astera Labs, a California-based AI solutions provider whose work is “at the core of how today’s data centers support the explosive growth of AI,” per the EY release. Astera will go on compete in the World Entrepreneur of the Year competition.

Mike Blue, president and CEO of Plymouth-based HistoSonics, was a finalist this year in the Health and Life Sciences category. Sarah Barrett Reiner and Tom Barrett, partners and co-managing directors of Brainerd-based Barrett Petfood, were finalists in the Family Business category.