SCORE Mentor Helps Collection Agency Net 500% Revenue Growth

Before they were business partners at their bill collection agency, Robin Fulk, Christy Thomas, and Sadie Jones were co-workers.

One day, the women with a shared entrepreneurial vision, looked at each other and said, “We could do this ourselves,” Fulk recalled. “There was a need in the market for our particular form of collections.”

CredStar Revenue Solutions, a full-service collection agency for public entities, customer service call center, and billing and notice fulfillment provider was born several years ago in Mooresville. While the entrepreneurs knew the industry, shifting from worker to business owner proved to be challenging.

“We weren’t sure where our focus should be,” Fulk said. “When you start a business, everything’s a priority.”

A Google search led Fulk to SCORE Indianapolis, a local chapter of a national small business mentoring organization. Fulk began meeting with SCORE mentor Debbie Guy in September 2024. At the time, CredStar had three municipal clients. The founders were all working outside jobs in addition to fully launching the business.

Initially, Fulk looked to Guy for “direction and help with decision making.” But, since then, their SCORE mentor has opened the door to so much more.

“She’s very knowledgeable about not necessarily our industry but business in general,” Fulk said, adding that Guy had connected her with a Small Business Administration loan resource to assist with funding, as well as SCORE subject matter experts to shed light on branding, marketing, and leadership. “It’s not just one person and their experience; it’s a whole team of people and their experience.”

Fast forward to 2026 and Fulk, Thomas and Jones have all left their full-time jobs and have transitioned from CredStar day-to-day operators into organizational leaders. The company has onboarded several clients, including school systems, universities, and state governments and has seen approximately 500 percent projected revenue growth.

CredStar serves clients beyond Indiana, including entities in Michigan, Texas, Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida.

“We take a customer service approach to collections, which is unique in our industry,” she said. “We’re an extension of our client. Collections can be very delicate. We protect our client’s reputations and serve as a partner rather than a vendor.”

Fulk attributes the rapid growth to Guy’s guidance as it evolved from startup insight to strategic growth. Guy, who founded her first company in her 20s and had a lengthy career in high-tech, helped to streamline the RFP process and introduced CredStar to AI and other business efficiencies.

“These ladies are so smart. They really have all the ingredients,” Guy said. “I’ve pushed them a lot in technology. My whole big thing is efficiency.”

Guy also helped CredStar to be viewed as trusted advisors in the municipal space.

“That makes the selling process so much less salesy,” Guy said. “That’s helped color the way they approach all of their processes.”

Looking ahead, Fulk, Thomas and Jones continue mentoring with Guy on numerous ways of “fine tuning parts of the business,” Fulk said.

“She finds tools and resources that would be helpful for us,” Fulk said.

About SCORE

Since 1964, SCORE has helped 11 million entrepreneurs start or grow a business. SCORE's 10,000 volunteers provide free mentoring, workshops, and educational services to 1,500+ communities nationwide. With more than 70 members throughout the Indianapolis area, SCORE Indianapolis provides nearly 3,000 mentoring services annually to local small business owners through one-on-one counseling and small business workshops. For more information about starting or operating a small business, or finding a mentor, visit SCORE Indianapolis at www.score.org/indianapolis.