Earnest

company

About

Earnest is a technology-lender that brings low-interest loans to high-potential people.

Details

Last Funding Type
Series A
Last Funding Money Raised
$17M
Industries
Banking,Consumer Lending,Credit,Financial Services,FinTech
Founded date
Jan 1, 2013
Number Of Employee
101 - 250
Operating Status
Active
Legal Name
Earnest LLC

Earnest was built on the principle that getting a loan shouldn’t be difficult for financially responsible people. Earnest offers student loan refinancing and personal loan. It uses its unrivaled technology to consider more than just a credit score; it looks at thousands of data points such as education, saving patterns, investments, and career trajectory. Customers apply online and can manage their account payment preferences with the online dashboard and mobile app.

Earnest was founded in 2013, by Louis Beryl and Ben Hutchinson, and had its official launch in early 2014. Earnest raised several rounds of funding from investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Maveron, Battery Ventures, Atlas Ventures, and several others. In 2017, Earnest was acquired by Navient Corp. Navient maintains Earnest as a separate brand while allowing Earnest to be backed by a larger company.

Earnest has grown from distributing $8M loans in its first year of business to distributing nearly $2B in student loans and having a roughly $500M loan portfolio in 2017. Earnest has been included in Fast Company’s World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies list. The company lends across the United States in 45 states and the District of Columbia. In August 2017, it was announced that Earnest would open a second office in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Funding Rounds

Number of Funding Rounds
Total Funding Amount
6
$316.30M
Earnest has raised a total of $316.30M in funding over 2 rounds. Their latest funding was raised on Mar 31, 2017 from a Series C round.
Announced Date Round Money Raised Number of Investors Lead Investors Post Valuation
Mar 31, 2017 Series C $20M 2 Detail
Nov 17, 2015 Series B $75M 3 Battery Ventures Detail
Nov 17, 2015 Debt Financing $200M 1 New York Life Insurance Detail
Jan 27, 2015 Series A $17M 11 Maveron Detail
May 20, 2014 Seed $4.30M 8 Maveron Detail

Investments

Number of Investments
Number of Lead Investments
1
0
Earnest has made 1 investments. Their most recent investment was on Sep 28, 2010, when TigerConnect raised $1.50M.
Date Company Name
Round Money Raised Industry Lead Investor
Sep 28, 2010 TigerConnect
Angel $1.50M Collaboration

Investors

Number of Lead Investors
Number of Investors
4
18
Earnest is funded by 18 investors. Battery Ventures and New York Life Insurance are the most recent investors.
Investor Name Lead Investor Funding Round
Battery Ventures Yes Series B
New York Life Insurance Yes Debt Financing
Accomplice Series C
Maveron Series C
Adams Street Partners Series B
Andreessen Horowitz Series A
Brendan Wallace Series A
Collaborative Fund Series A
Correlation Ventures Series A
First Round Capital Series A

Employee Profiles

Number of Employee Profiles
13
Earnest has 13 current employee profiles, including Board observer Rebecca Kaden
Board observer
Board member
Employee
Board member
Executive

Acquisition

Earnest has acquired 1 organizations. Their most recent acquisition was Going Merry on Sep 15, 2021. They acquired Going Merry for 0.

Date Company Name
Industry Acquisition Type Price
Sep 15, 2021 Going Merry
Education acquisition Detail