ChangEd
Mobile app that helps pay down student loans by using spare change from everyday purchases to make additional payments.
| Date | Investors | Amount | Round |
|---|---|---|---|
| - | investor | €0.0 | round |
| investor | €0.0 | round | |
| investor | €0.0 | round | |
| N/A | €0.0 | round | |
| investor investor | €0.0 | round | |
| N/A | €0.0 | round | |
* | N/A | Early VC | |
| Total Funding | 000k | ||
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ChangEd is a fintech company founded in 2017 by Daniel Stelmach and Nick Skrzyniarz to address the significant challenge of debt repayment. The founders created the mobile application as a solution to the growing student loan crisis, which exceeded $1.4 trillion in the U.S. Their concept gained national attention and a significant boost after appearing on season 9 of "Shark Tank," where they secured a $250,000 investment from Mark Cuban for a 25% equity stake in the company.
The company's core service is a mobile application that helps users automate the process of paying down various types of debt, including student loans, credit cards, mortgages, auto loans, and personal loans. The primary mechanism is a "round-up" feature that links to a user's bank accounts and credit cards. For every purchase made, the app rounds the transaction up to the nearest dollar and transfers the spare change into a separate, FDIC-insured ChangEd account. Once the accumulated savings in the ChangEd account reach a certain threshold, typically $100, the funds are automatically sent as an extra payment toward the principal of the user's designated loan.
ChangEd operates on a subscription-based business model, charging users a monthly fee for access to its platform. The company offers several tiered plans, with higher-priced tiers providing additional features like paying off multiple debt types, faster transfers, and larger roundup multipliers. This model aims to provide an accessible tool for individuals looking to accelerate their debt repayment without making significant changes to their lifestyle. The application's dashboard provides users with clear visualizations of their progress, showing how much they've paid, the interest they are projected to save, and how much sooner they can become debt-free, which serves to keep users motivated.
Since its launch and appearance on "Shark Tank," ChangEd has experienced considerable growth, helping users pay off millions in debt and expanding its services to cover a wider range of financial obligations beyond student loans. The company has also secured further funding, including investments from the MetLife Digital Accelerator powered by Techstars, to continue developing its platform and expanding its user base. Keywords: debt repayment, micro-payments, financial technology, loan amortization, spare change, automated savings, personal finance app, debt management, round-up savings, Shark Tank