About Earnest
Earnest is a Financial Services company based in San Francisco (United States) founded in 2013, and was acquired by Navient in November 2017. Student loan refinancing and personal loans are offered by Earnest. Earnest has raised $107 million across 4 funding rounds from investors including Navient, New York Life Insurance and Atlas Venture. The company has 131 employees. Its website earnest.com draws about 795 thousand monthly visits. Its focus areas include FinTech, Alternative Lending, Online Lenders and Consumer Loans. Its legal entity is EARNEST INC. Its competitors include SoFi, Avant and Moneylion; 3 of its 3 listed competitors have raised funding.
Company details
Earnest is a direct lender providing student loan refinancing and personal loans. Student loans ranging from 5K to 5M can be refinanced by students as well as parents with interest rates starting from 2.75 APR. Loans are offered to students graduated from Title IV accredited schools who are employed currently. Earnest offers both fixed and variable interest loans and claims to generate average savings of 21K through refinancing. Earnest looks beyond credit score and evaluates a persons full education, employment, and financial profile. Earnest also offers personal loans up to 50K with fixed interest rates starting at 5.25 APR.
- Headquarters San Francisco, United States
- Employees 131
- Stage Acquired
- SectorsFinancial Services
- Website category Finance
- Website earnest.com
- Social LinkedIn X Facebook
- Acquired by Navient (Nov 2017)
- Legal Name Earnest Inc
Funding Insights of Earnest
Earnest has successfully raised a total of $107M across 4 strategic funding rounds. The most recent funding activity was a Series B round of $75 million completed in November 2015. This substantial capital infusion reflects strong investor confidence in the company's business model, growth potential, and market opportunities. The funding enables strategic expansion, product development, market penetration, and operational scaling to drive long-term value creation and competitive advantage.
- Total Funding $107M
- Total Rounds 4
- Last Round Series B — $75M
- First Round $15M
(May 2014)
- Investors Count 9
All 4 funding rounds of Earnest with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.
| Date | Amount | Transaction Name | Valuation | Lead Investors | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 2015 | $200M | Debt – Conventional | – | – | |
| Nov 2015 | $75M | Series B | – | Battery Ventures | |
| Jan 2015 | $17M | Series A | – | – | |
| May 2014 | $15M | Series A | – | – |
10 investors in total: 10 institutional.
Investors in Earnest
Earnest has secured backing from 10 investors, including institutional and venture fund investors. Prominent investors backing the company include Navient, New York Life Insurance and Atlas Venture.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Investments in technology companies are conducted globally by Battery Ventures. | battery.com | |||
Private markets investment management with strategies in equity, credit, and secondary investments. | adamsstreetpartners.com | |||
Venture capital investments in consumer businesses, emphasizing technology and human behavior. | maveron.com | |||
Early-stage tech VC investments are made primarily in the US. | wildcat.vc | Portola Valley, United States | ||
Venture capital investments in technology sectors are handled by Andreessen Horowitz. | a16z.com | |||
Venture capital firm investing in life science and biotechnology sectors | 1980 | atlasventure.com | Cambridge, United States | |
US focused seed and early-stage VC firm | firstround.com | San Francisco, United States | ||
Private equity firm investing in multiple sectors | collabfund.com | New York, United States | ||
Mutual life insurance and asset management services are provided. | 1845 | newyorklife.com | New York, United States | |
Student loans and federal servicing are provided by Navient. | 2014 | navient.com | Wilmington, United States |
Investor details for Earnest
The complete investor list, round-by-round participation and investor portfolios require an active premium plan.
- Complete investor list
- Round participation
- Investor portfolios
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Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
People of Earnest
96 people are tracked at Earnest (19 in leadership, 77 in team); the tracked headcount is 131.
| Name | Role | Group |
|---|---|---|
Tyler Yates | Director Of Internal Operations | Leadership |
Rob Anderson | Head Of Talent & Employee Experience | Leadership |
John Coburn | Head of Legal | Leadership |
Jason Kennedy | Director Of Infrastructure | Leadership |
David Green | CEO | Leadership |
Olivia Harries | Chief of Staff | Leadership |
Leanne Loveday-Smith | Chief People Officer | Leadership |
Meetesh Karia | CTO | Leadership |
Raymond Murthi | Director Of Engineering | Leadership |
Meilinda Huang | Head Of Product, Lending | Leadership |
Chayna Eno | Lead HR Business Partner | Leadership |
Matei Gheorghiu | Head Of Design | Leadership |
Amanda Gerhardt-King | Director, People Strategy And Programs | Leadership |
John Davidson | Head Of Credit Operations | Leadership |
Farzona Pulatova | VP Of Engineering | Leadership |
Marc Schoonover | General Manager | Leadership |
Brandy H. | Head Of Operations & Customer Experience/slc Site Leader - Remote | Leadership |
Nick Norcross | Chief Product Officer | Leadership |
Kasey Greuner | Vice President - Head Of Product | Leadership |
Amber McCabe | Recruiter | Team |
76 more people are available in the full profile.
Complete people profiles for Earnest
Full employee and board profiles, team structure, tenure and professional contact details require an active premium plan.
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Timeline of Earnest
4 dated milestones of Earnest across 4 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Founded Earnest is founded.
- Funding First funding round of $15.0M.
- Funding Latest funding round, Series B, of $75.0M.
- Exit Acquired by Navient.
Competitors of Earnest
Earnest has 3 listed competitors in our database, 3 of them funded. They include SoFi, Avant and Moneylion.
| Company Name | Domain | Founded | HQ Location | Total funding | Employees | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| sofi.com | 2011 | San Francisco, United States | $3.04B | 3,066 | Various consumer loans and financial services are offered online. | |
| avant.com | 2012 | Chicago, United States | $905.23M | 547 | Consumer loans are facilitated via an online platform. | |
| moneylion.com | 2013 | Sandy, United States | $268.43M | 296 | Instant consumer loans and mobile banking are offered online. |
Detailed competitors of Earnest
The full competitor set, operating metrics and side-by-side benchmarks require an active premium plan.
- Full competitor set
- Operating metrics
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Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Web traffic of Earnest
The website of Earnest (earnest.com) receives about 795.4K visits a month and ranks #61,447 among all websites worldwide, #3,868 in Finance.
- Monthly visits795.4K
▲ 13.2% vs previous month
- Unique visitors375.8K
per month
- Global rank#61,447
among all websites
- Category rank#3,868
Finance · Finance
- Bounce rate34%
- Pages per visit4.2
- Average visit2 min 14 sec
- DevicesDesktop 40% · Mobile 60%
Websites whose visitors overlap most with Earnest. Affinity shows how closely the audiences match.
| Website | Domain | Audience affinity | Monthly visits | Global rank | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| nerdwallet.com | 100% | 22.3M | #2,677 | View details | |
| credible.com | 99% | 847.2K | #44,104 | View details | |
| salliemae.com | 96% | 2.6M | #20,647 | View details | |
collegeave.com | collegeave.com | 87% | #84,413 | – | |
| barclaycardus.com | 85% | #3,121 | View details | ||
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
All 40 similar websites and full traffic analytics for Earnest
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- 40 similar websites
- Audience overlap
- Engagement analytics
- Traffic by brand
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Top companies in Alternative Lending
3 companies that operate in the same segment as Earnest (Alternative Lending) in United States, ranked by their profile score on The Company Check.
| Company | Description | Founded | Location | Total funding | Revenue | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Diversified loans are provided via an AI-enabled online marketplace. | 2012 | Palo Alto, California, United States | USD 128.65 M | USD 1.04 B | 1,190 | |
Various consumer loans and financial services are offered online. | 2011 | San Francisco, California, United States | USD 3.04 B | USD 4.77 B | 6,843 | |
Credit score checking and comparison platform for financial products | 2007 | San Francisco, California, United States | USD 869.77 M | 1,487 |
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Related news about Earnest
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Frequently Asked Questions about Earnest
Earnest was founded in 2013 and raised its 1st funding round 1 year after it was founded.
Earnest is headquartered in San Francisco, United States. It is registered at San Francisco, California, United States.
Earnest is a funded company, having raised a total of $107M across 4 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a Series A of $15M, raised on May 2014.
Earnest has 131 employees.
Earnest is a direct lender providing student loan refinancing and personal loans. Student loans ranging from 5K to 5M can be refinanced by students as well as parents with interest rates starting from 2.75 APR. Loans are offered to students graduated from Title IV accredited schools who are employed currently. Earnest offers both fixed and variable interest loans and claims to generate average savings of 21K through refinancing. Earnest looks beyond credit score and evaluates a persons full education, employment, and financial profile. Earnest also offers personal loans up to 50K with fixed interest rates starting at 5.25 APR.
Earnest has 10 investors. Key investors include Navient, New York Life Insurance, Atlas Venture, Battery Ventures, and Adams Street Partners.
Earnest operates through Earnest Inc.
Yes. Earnest was acquired by Navient in November 2017.
The website of Earnest receives about 795 thousand visits a month and ranks #61,447 among all websites worldwide.