Student Loan Genius lands $4.7m new funding
$4.7m funding for Student Loan Genius
Texas-based Student Loan Genius has raised $4.7 million in funding, writes David Penn at Finovate. 11 investors participated in the round.
The company’s SEC Form D filing suggests that the $4.7 million was part of a larger $5.8 million fundraising initiative. The new capital more than doubles Student Loan Genius’ total equity funding to more than $7 million.
Student Loan Genius helps young workers retire their student debts faster through a combination of education, debt, analysis, and the assistance of employers. The company helps students search for and identify student loan repayment programmes that work best for them (i.e. programmes that offer better terms based on higher credit scores, programmes that offer discounts for military veterans). Student Loan Genius also enables student loan borrowers to see the difference among repayment options.
The company’s signature feature is Genius Save, which enables employers to attach a student loan benefit to their 401(k) contribution. The goal is to relieve the strain of student loan repayments on the budgets of young workers who are just beginning to save for retirement.
“Like the 401(k), a student loan benefit invests back into employees,” says Student Loan Genius’ content manager, Bobby Hilliard. “While benefits like pet insurance or chef-catered lunches are appealing, a student loan repayment benefit impacts lives immediately. Plus, it’s a great tool for retention.” Hilliard notes that employers offering a student loan contribution to their workers of “even $50 a month” can make a significant impact on their employees’ ability to retire their student debt quicker and begin saving for a home and investing for retirement that much sooner.
Founded in 2013, the company partnered with New York Life last autumn, helping the firm launch its student loan repayment programme.
Prudential Financial, John Hancock, Socratic Ventures, Village Capital, Kapor Capital, and Capital Factory are among the company’s investors.
Fintech and venture capital veteran Matt Beecher was appointed CEO of the company in August 2017.
