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Austin-based Vested Finance announced a $5M seed round led by Sandleigh Ventures today. Funding will be used to expand company operations and offices in Austin, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. This will include the hiring of the development team that will create and distribute the company's mobile app.
"At $1.3 trillion and growing, we have a student debt crisis with no solutions," said Vested CEO Lorne Abony in a statement. "Vested will allow students to unlock and monetize their greatest asset, which is the present value of their future earning potential by providing them with a perfect market to sell this asset to those willing to provide immediate capital in exchange for a portion of the students future earnings for a finite period of time."
Vested was founded in early 2015 to provide a way for students to pay for their education without incurring any debt. Abony came up with the idea when a family friend offered to "invest" in him to help fund his college education in exchange for a percentage of his future earnings.
Vested students also have access to a mentoring program comprised of industry leaders. The Vested app, currently in development, will educate students and parents on equity financing and enable them to simulate school and career choices to see comparison data on financing options and earnings potential.
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