Skills Fund
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersAustin, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
Skills Fund firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Skills Fund
- Legal name
- Skills Fund, LLC
- Website
- https://skills.fund
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Skills Fund industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Private Education Lending
- NAICS
- Educational Support Services (611710), Other Grantmaking and Giving Services (813219)
- SIC
- Mortgage Bankers & Loan Correspondents (6162)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Career Training & Bootcamp Financing (ISA & Installment) (FSAKAEAI)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Scholarships, Grants & Education Benefits Administration (Financing-adjacent) (FSAKAEAM), Corporate & Employer-Sponsored Scholarships (EDAIAOAI), Scholarships, Grants & Donor-Funded Awards Management (EDALAJAB)
Keywords
Where Skills Fund is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Austin
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Skills Fund business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Career Training Consumer Loans: Consumer loans for career training and bootcamp programs. Origination fee of 5.0% added to loan principal. Borrowers select from multiple repayment plans including interest-only, minimum payment, or deferred repayment options. Interest accrues during school with various payback timelines.
- College Student Loans: Private student loans for undergraduate and graduate programs including cosigned and non-cosigned (outcomes-based) options. Revenue generated through interest on loan balances, origination fees, and autopay discounts. No late or NSF fees on college loans.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Career Training Loans - Up to 100% tuition coverage |
| Unit Pricing | Monthly | Undergraduate College Loans |
| Unit Pricing | Monthly | Graduate College Loans |
| Outcome Based/ Performance | One time/ perpetual license | 1% Cash Back Graduation Reward |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
Skills Fund product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Skills Fund, LLC (d/b/a Ascent Skills Funding) is a consumer lending subsidiary of Ascent Funding that originates private loans covering up to 100% of tuition for career training, bootcamp, and skilled trades programs. The company uses an outcomes-based underwriting model that evaluates academic progress, program completion, and career readiness alongside traditional credit, supplemented by cosigned and non-cosigned loan variants, interest-free Zero Percent Loans for workforce development programs, and supporting tools such as the AscentUP platform and AscentConnect mobile app.
Product overview
Skills Fund, LLC (d/b/a Ascent Skills Funding) is a consumer lending subsidiary of Ascent Funding that specializes in financing for career training and bootcamp programs. The company's core product is the Career Training Loan, offered as cosigned and non-cosigned options, covering up to 100% of tuition with a 5.0% origination fee. Additional offerings include Zero Percent Loans (interest-free workforce development loans in partnership with The Forward Fund) and Short-Term Loans for shorter programs. Skills Fund complements its lending products with student support services including AscentUP (free asynchronous career training platform), AscentConnect mobile app for loan management, scholarship giveaways (over $355,000 awarded), 1% cash back graduation rewards, and a refer-a-friend program. Loan servicing is handled through Launch Servicing, LLC with funds disbursed directly to partner schools.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Career Training Loan Consumer loan covering up to 100% of tuition (minimum $2,000; maximum up to school tuition not exceeding $40,000) for career training and bootcamp programs, with flexible repayment plans (interest-only, minimum payment, deferred, or immediate), 1% autopay discount, and optional living expense coverage for qualifying borrowers. Subject to 5.0% origination fee.
- Cosigned Career Training Loan Career training loan variant that requires a creditworthy cosigner, offering access to better interest rates and higher borrowing limits for applicants with limited or no credit history.
- Non-Cosigned Career Training Loan Career training loan variant for students applying without a cosigner, underwritten based on creditworthiness and other qualifying factors rather than a cosigner's credit profile.
- Short-Term Loan Variant of the Career Training Loan designed for shorter training programs with a minimum borrowing amount of $1,000 ($6,001 for Massachusetts residents).
- Zero Percent Loan Interest-free workforce training loan offered in partnership with The Forward Fund for adult learners in high-demand trades, with minimal underwriting, 90%+ approval rate, no interest or fees, payment deferral if income threshold is not met, and living stipends.
- Graduate Outcomes-Based Loan New outcomes-based loan product for graduate students that evaluates expected post-graduation earning potential rather than current credit profile, offering manageable loans after advanced program completion.
- Aviation Loan Program Loan program designed for early-career aviation pathways, evaluating students based on expected starting income rather than current credit history or cosigner access, for flight training that often exceeds $100,000 and is frequently ineligible for federal aid.
Quantifiable outcome
- 220,000+ borrowers funded with over $2 billion in education loans
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Skills Fund
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Skills Fund technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Skills Fund partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.
- NCAHEC (North Carolina Area Health Education Centers)corePartnership to address North Carolina's projected shortage of nearly 12,500 RNs by 2033. Provides alternative financing solutions for nursing students through The Forward Fund initiative.
- The Forward Fundcore$7 million fund partnership to provide 0% interest loans for adult learners in workforce training programs. Initial focus on Cape Fear Community College Electrical Lineworker Training Program. Loan repayments tied to career outcomes and cycled back to fund future learners. 98% of participants didn't have a cosigner, 93% from low-income backgrounds.
- Social FinancesecondaryColorado-based Forward Fund partnership supporting workforce training programs at The Master's Apprentice and CareerDash. Combines social impact financing with Ascent's lending expertise.
- CooleysecondaryLegal advisor to Ascent for Series C financing round.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Skills Fund competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- SoFi: Public fintech offering private student loans (undergraduate, graduate, parent, refinance) alongside broader consumer lending. Most direct national-scale competitor in private student lending with comparable target customer and outcomes-based positioning on certain products.
- College Ave Student Loans: Private student loan provider offering undergraduate, graduate, and parent loans marketed through schools and direct-to-consumer. Closely comparable product portfolio and distribution model targeting similar borrower segments.
- LendKey: Lending-as-a-service platform connecting credit unions and community banks with student loan borrowers. Comparable in distributing education financing through partner institutions rather than direct bank balance sheet.
- Nelnet: Major student loan originator and servicer with deep institutional relationships and a full suite of private student loan products. Directly competes in the same school-channel distribution model and private student loan category.
- CommonBond (now part of KeyBank): Originally a fintech private student loan provider with technology-led underwriting and a school-channel model; now part of KeyBank. Closely aligned with Skills Fund's mission-driven, technology-forward approach to student lending.
- Earnest (Navient): Originally an online lender using alternative underwriting (now operating under Navient), historically a direct competitor in private student loans and refinancing with technology-driven underwriting comparable to Skills Fund's outcomes-based approach.
- Splash Financial: Student loan refinancing and lending marketplace using a partner-bank model similar to Skills Fund's approach. Comparable technology-driven underwriting and channel-partner distribution.
- Prodigy Finance: International student loan provider focused on graduate and professional students using future-earnings-based underwriting for credit-invisible international borrowers. Directly comparable outcomes-based model for non-traditional and international segments.
Broad incumbents
- Discover Student Loans: Large incumbent private student loan product offered by Discover Financial across undergraduate, graduate, and parent categories. Competes for the same borrower base as part of a broader consumer financial services portfolio.
Emerging players
- MPower Financing: Fintech focused on loans for international and DACA students without cosigners, using future-earning potential in underwriting. Emerging player with meaningful overlap on outcomes-based lending to credit-invisible borrowers.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Skills Fund social profiles
Digital presenceSkills Fund financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Skills Fund leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
Skills Fund subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Skills Fund funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Skills Fund M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Skills Fund
What does Skills Fund do?
Skills Fund, LLC (d/b/a Ascent Skills Funding) is a consumer lending subsidiary of Ascent Funding that originates private loans covering up to 100% of tuition for career training, bootcamp, and skilled trades programs. The company uses an outcomes-based underwriting model that evaluates academic progress, program completion, and career readiness alongside traditional credit, supplemented by cosigned and non-cosigned loan variants, interest-free Zero Percent Loans for workforce development programs, and supporting tools such as the AscentUP platform and AscentConnect mobile app.
Is Skills Fund a public or private company?
Skills Fund is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Skills Fund founded?
Skills Fund was founded in 2018. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Skills Fund based?
Skills Fund is headquartered in Austin, United States, in the North America region.
How does Skills Fund make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Career Training Consumer Loans are the primary driver. The others are college Student Loans.
Who are Skills Fund's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are SoFi, College Ave Student Loans, LendKey, Nelnet, CommonBond (now part of KeyBank), Earnest (Navient), Splash Financial and Prodigy Finance. Discover Student Loans is listed as a broad incumbent. MPower Financing is listed as an emerging player.
Does Skills Fund have an API?
No public API is recorded for Skills Fund.
What industry is Skills Fund in?
Skills Fund's product category is Private Education Lending. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAKAEAI, Career Training & Bootcamp Financing (ISA & Installment), with a secondary code of FSAKAEAM, Scholarships, Grants & Education Benefits Administration (Financing-adjacent). Its NAICS code is 611710 and its SIC code is 6162.