Student Loan Genius announced it has raised $3 million in seed funding.
The Austin-based startup received the funds from Gibraltar Ventures, an affiliate of Prudential. Other participants included Kapor Capital, Capital Factory and Village Capital.
Tony Aguilar co-founded Student Loan Genius to allow companies to help their employees pay off their student loans faster through a company matching program. It was previously known as Student Loan Benefits. The company also presented at White House Demo Day last year. Aguilar, who graduated from college with more than $100,000 in student loan debt, created the program to give students the benefits he wishes he had in the workplace.
The startup offers companies a chance to offer student loan reduction as a benefit to employees. Student Loan Genius reports that 70 percent of graduates carry students loans averaging more than $35,000. The company is currently working with 45 companies, who have incorporated Student Loan Genius’ student loan benefits into their employee benefit package. The platform lets the companies contribute matching dollars to employees’ student loan payments through a program called “Genius Match.”
“We are excited to be part of Student Loan Genius’ future as they empower businesses to help their employees get to that next stage in their lives,” Chris Penner, vice president of investments for Gibraltar Ventures said in a news release. “By providing student loan benefits that help employees pay down debt faster, Student Loan Genius is delivering an innovative, competitive advantage to businesses by helping them attract and retain top talent.”
The company, founded in 2013, plans to use the funds to develop new products and on its continued growth. It has previously raised 1.4 million in seed stage funding, according to its AngelList profile.
“Aside from the business opportunity, we see these large investments as indications that these firms really want to help people with every aspect of their financial life, starting with student loan debt and retirement savings, two of the largest concerns of working professionals,” Aguilar, co-founder and CEO of Student Loan Genius said in a news release. “Clearly, they believe in innovation, they recognize what we’re doing to help people, and they’re making a commitment to invest in the lives of today’s graduates — the future of the workforce.”
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