The College Funding Coach

What The College Funding Coach does

The College Funding Coach® is a privately held, founder-owned financial education and advisory services company founded in 2002 by Brock Jolly in the Washington, D.C. area (Vienna, Virginia). It operates a national network of nearly 100 independent coaches who deliver a workshop-first service targeting parents of college-bound students, helping them navigate FAFSA, CSS Profile, 529 plan selection, scholarship identification, and strategies for paying college costs without depleting retirement savings. The company's core product is the flagship interactive workshop "Little-Known Secrets of Paying for College," complemented by free digital tools (College Money Report™, Financial Aid/SAI Calculator, College Savings Estimator, 529 State Tax & Fee Comparison Calculator, 529 Plan Standard Search Tool), on-demand webinars, the TuitionCents blog, and a podcast.

The company monetizes primarily through commissions earned when clients implement financial strategies through partner financial institutions, supplemented by tiered Success Summit conference registrations ($599–$899), an Advisor Membership Program for financial advisors, and Enhanced College Planning Services delivered in partnership with the College Funding Service Center. Its go-to-market is heavily event- and community-driven: several hundred workshops are conducted annually at schools, businesses, houses of worship, and community organizations, with a referral network spanning 748+ school workshop hosts. Management is led by Founder Brock Jolly and COO Andrea Ashton, with no institutional funding, no parent company, no subsidiaries, and no disclosed M&A activity.

Name

The College Funding Coach

Legal name

The College Funding Coach

Website

https://thecollegefundingcoach.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

The College Funding Coach is a privately held, founder-owned financial advisory firm that operates a national network of nearly 100 coaches delivering college funding workshops and one-on-one strategy sessions to parents of college-bound students across the United States, supported by free digital planning tools and a strategic services partnership.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

College Funding Advisory Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Funding Planning (College/529) (FSAEAAAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Financial Planning Tools & Financial Coaching (Goal Setting, Apps, Advisors) (EDAAAJAN), Financial Aid, Scholarships & FAFSA/CSS Profile Support (EDANAEAI)

Keywords

• College funding advisory
• Financial aid planning
• College savings strategy
• 529 plan guidance
• Education funding workshops

Headquarters

HQ city

Vienna

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Commission from Financial Institutions: The company receives compensation when clients implement financial strategies through financial institutions. Coaches work with independent financial services representatives to implement products and strategies.
2. Enhanced College Planning Services: Partnership with College Funding Service Center offering tiered service packages including Financial Aid Form Filing, Student Positioning, and Comprehensive packages for deeper planning support.
3. Conference Registration: Success Summit annual conference with tiered registration fees ($599-$899) for financial advisors seeking education funding expertise.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The College Funding Coach provides college funding advisory services through a national network of nearly 100 independent coaches who deliver free educational workshops, one-on-one financial coaching, and tiered Enhanced College Planning Services (financial aid form filing, student positioning, and comprehensive packages) to families saving for college. The company also offers self-serve digital tools (College Money Report™, financial aid calculators, 529 plan comparison tools) and runs an annual Success Summit conference for financial advisors.

Product overview

The College Funding Coach® is a financial education and advisory service that operates as a workshop-based platform with integrated digital tools. The core offering is the flagship 'Little-Known Secrets of Paying for College' interactive workshop, supplemented by free digital tools (College Money Report™, Financial Aid/SAI Calculator, College Savings Estimator, 529 State Tax & Fee Comparison Calculator, 529 Plan Standard Search Tool), enhanced paid planning services in partnership with the College Funding Service Center, on-demand webinars, and an annual Success Summit conference. The company provides coaching services through a national network of nearly 100 independent financial advisors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• College Money Report™: Free tool that helps families understand how much colleges think they can afford, if they qualify for grants/scholarships, and expected out-of-pocket costs.
• Little-Known Secrets of Paying for College
• TuitionCents
• TuitionCents Blog

Products and services

• Little-Known Secrets of Paying for College Workshop The flagship interactive workshop that teaches parents the rules of the game when it comes to financial aid and critical strategies to qualify for need-based aid or maximize cash flow. Offered free to parents through schools, businesses, and community organizations nationwide.
• Enhanced College Planning Services Three-tiered paid service package—Financial Aid Forms Filing, Student Positioning & Awards Analysis, and Comprehensive—provided in partnership with College Funding Service Center for families needing deeper support with financial aid form completion, student positioning, and awards analysis.
• Success Summit Conference Annual paid conference for financial advisors seeking college funding expertise, featuring speakers, education sessions, and networking. Registration tiers range from $599 to $899 based on registration date.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $50 million in documented cost savings for families served
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• College Funding Service CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to provide Enhanced College Planning Services including Financial Aid Form Filing, Student Positioning & Awards Analysis, and Comprehensive packages. The College Funding Service Center has excelled at college planning for over two decades and provides web-based portal (Engus.info), career planning tools, and monthly teleconferences.
• Success Summit 2026 Event SponsorsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerEvent sponsors for the annual Success Summit conference including First, Juno, Fid_Core, FFG, NAIFA, PC529, College Funding Service Center, Capital Group, AZ, DWS, and CAP. These sponsorships increase visibility and brand presence among the financial advisor community.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• MEFA (Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority): State-sponsored nonprofit that combines college planning guidance, 529 plan administration, and student loan products with family advisory services. Highly comparable as a multi-channel college funding advisory and lending brand serving families and advisors.
• Saving for College: Long-running content and comparison platform for 529 plans and college savings strategies, with planning tools and advisor resources. Directly comparable in subject-matter depth on college funding strategy and tool-driven engagement.

Emerging players

• Edmit: Digital college cost and net price calculator platform that helps families estimate true college costs and financial aid. Comparable as a tech-enabled college funding planning tool serving the same parent demographic.
• College Raptor: College discovery and cost-prediction platform with tools for estimating financial aid and net price. Overlaps with the company's calculator-driven, family-facing approach to college affordability planning.
• Scholly: Scholarship discovery app aimed at students and families seeking funding. Adjacent on the college funding stack, overlapping with the company's scholarship identification use case but delivered as a self-serve mobile tool.
• Going Merry: Scholarship and financial aid application platform for students. Comparable as a tech-enabled tool helping families reduce out-of-pocket college costs, though more student-facing than parent-facing.
• TuitionFit: College cost comparison and merit aid estimation platform. Overlaps with the company's calculator-driven, cost-reduction value proposition, though delivered as a self-serve consumer tool rather than an advisory service.

Others

• College Ave Student Loans: Online student loan provider with college planning content and tools. Adjacent rather than direct — same audience and topic area, but monetizes via lending rather than advisory fees and commissions.
• Fastweb: Large scholarship search and financial aid information platform. Comparable in addressing college affordability for the same target family, but operates as a free content/resource site rather than paid coaching.

Broad incumbents

• College Board BigFuture: Massive, broadly used college planning, scholarship search, and financial aid information platform operated by College Board. Comparable in audience and content but is a free, institutional incumbent rather than a paid advisor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/collegefundingc
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/tcfc2002
• Facebookfacebook.com/thecollegefundingcoach
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-college-funding-coach

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The College Funding Coach