INvestEd

What INvestEd does

INvestEd (legal entity: Indiana Secondary Market for Education Loans, Inc.) is an Indiana-based nonprofit founded approximately 45 years ago (1980), incorporated under Indiana state law and operating exclusively to finance loans authorized under the Higher Education Act of 1965. The organization serves Indiana residents and students attending Indiana colleges, providing a dual-track offering of free financial aid advisory services and private education loan products. Free services include the College Planning Toolbox (online cost-projection tool), the Award Advisor™ mobile application (iOS and Android) that reads and standardizes financial aid award letters for side-by-side comparison, the College Planning Guide (distributed through 100+ schools and youth organizations), and a library of worksheets and videos. Lending products comprise three private loan offerings: Student Loan (fixed/variable, with rates currently ranging from 4.26%–10.13% APR), Parent Loan (4.09%–9.74% APR), and Refinance Loan (5.07%–10.72% APR, $5,000–$250,000 range), with borrower benefits including a 0.50% ACH discount and cosigner release after 12 on-time payments.

The technology platform is operated through partner relationships rather than in-house infrastructure: Bank of Lake Mills acts as the lender (Member FDIC), Campus Door processes loan applications, and American Education Services (AES) services the loan portfolio. INvestEd does not hold a banking license and earns revenue primarily through loan administration and origination support, with additional commission income from the Bank Referral Program that enables partner banks to distribute INvestEd loans through their own websites.

The go-to-market model is event-driven and community-led, anchored by more than 1,000 in-person events annually across Indiana (Financial Aid Nights, FAFSA filing events, college fairs, bootcamps) and a network of 40+ Indiana college website integrations. Headcount is 101–250 employees operating from a single Indianapolis headquarters (301 Pennsylvania Pkwy, Suite 360). Customer segments are primarily individual Indiana residents, students attending Indiana colleges, parents of college students, and a secondary segment of borrowers seeking refinancing; school counselors serve as an institutional channel rather than a paying customer. The organization is privately held with no disclosed parent company, no venture or private equity backing, and revenue derived from its loan portfolio rather than outside investment.

Name

INvestEd

Legal name

Indiana Secondary Market for Education Loans, Inc.

Website

https://investedindiana.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Private Education Lending

NAICS

Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers (52231), Educational Support Services (611710), Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers (522310), Educational Services (61)

SIC

Personal Credit Institutions (6141), Loan Brokers (6163), Asset-Backed Securities (6189)

akta.pro primary industry

Parent & Family Education Loans (e.g., PLUS/private parent loans) (FSAKAEAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Scholarships, Grants & Education Benefits Administration (Financing-adjacent) (FSAKAEAM), Scholarship, Financial Aid & FAFSA Support (EDAMAKAF), Education Funding Planning (College/529) (FSAEAAAF), Investing Fundamentals (Stocks, Bonds, Funds, Risk) (EDAAAJAH)

Keywords

• Private student loans
• Financial aid guidance
• Education lending
• Student loan refinancing
• College planning services

Headquarters

HQ city

Indianapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Student Loan Interest Income: INvestEd originates private student loans for Indiana residents and students attending Indiana colleges. Revenue is generated through interest on loans. They partner with Bank of Lake Mills as the lender and earn fees for loan administration and origination support.
2. Parent Loan Interest Income: INvestEd offers parent loans to help families cover remaining college costs. The loans are made by INvestEd with competitive fixed and variable rates.
3. Refinance Loan Interest Income: INvestEd helps borrowers refinance existing high-interest private and federal loans into new loans with potentially lower rates. Revenue generated through interest on refinanced loans.
4. Bank Referral Program Commissions: Partner banks receive commission upon loan disbursement when customers are referred through the Bank Referral Program. This creates a revenue stream for the partner banks while expanding INvestEd's distribution reach.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

INvestEd (Indiana Secondary Market for Education Loans, Inc.) is an Indiana nonprofit that provides free expert financial aid counseling alongside three private education loan products: Student Loans, Parent Loans, and Refinance Loans for Hoosier families and students attending Indiana colleges. Loan origination is supported by partner Bank of Lake Mills (lender), Campus Door (processor), and American Education Services (servicer). The organization complements lending with the free Award Advisor™ mobile app and the College Planning Toolbox online tool to help families maximize scholarships, grants, and other free aid before borrowing.

Product overview

INvestEd (Indiana Secondary Market for Education Loans, Inc.) is an Indiana nonprofit organization offering a dual-track portfolio of free financial guidance services and private education loan products. The free services include the College Planning Toolbox, Award Advisor™ mobile app for comparing financial aid offers, a scholarship search tool, and educational resources like the College Planning Guide and various worksheets. The core lending products consist of three private loan offerings: Student Loan (for Indiana residents or those attending Indiana colleges), Parent Loan (for Hoosier families), and Refinance Loan (for graduates seeking to consolidate existing education debt). The company also runs a $1,000 Scholarship Giveaway and a Bank Referral Program for partner institutions. All services are designed to help Hoosier families maximize free financial aid and minimize student loan debt.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Student Loan Private student loan product for Indiana residents or students attending Indiana colleges, offered in fixed and variable rate options with multiple repayment terms (5, 10, 15 years) and deferment options. Lender: Bank of Lake Mills; processor: Campus Door; servicer: American Education Services.
• Parent Loan Private parent loan for Hoosier families to fund their dependent students' college education. Available with fixed rates starting at 4.09% APR and variable rates starting at 5.84% APR, with auto-debit payment benefits and cosigner release options.
• Refinance Loan

Quantifiable outcome

• Indiana ranks in the top 10 in the nation in grant aid per full-time student, making higher education more accessible and attainable for Hoosiers

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Campus DoorcoreTechnology or IntegrationCampus Door serves as the loan processor for INvestEd's Student Loan, Parent Loan, and Refinance Loan products. They handle the technical processing of loan applications.
• American Education ServicescoreTechnology or IntegrationAmerican Education Services (AES) serves as the loan servicer for INvestEd's loan products. They manage billing, payments, and customer service for borrowers throughout the life of the loan.
• Indiana Chamber of CommerceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Indiana Chamber of Commerce manages the Work and Learn Indiana program, a FREE internship-matching program linking employers, students, high schools, colleges and universities. INvestEd references this program as a resource for student employment opportunities.
• EARN IndianaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEARN Indiana is a state program offering a web portal to connect Indiana students to paid internships in their career fields. INvestEd references this program as an option for students to gain experience and help pay for college.
• Partner Banks (Bank Referral Program)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner banks participating in INvestEd's Bank Referral Program can add student loans to their product offerings. Customers are directed to loan pages on the bank's website, then click through to INvestEd's application. Partner banks receive commission upon loan disbursement. Over 40 Indiana college websites also feature INvestEd information.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• SoFi: SoFi provides private student loans and refinancing alongside a broad consumer finance suite. It competes with INvestEd across student, parent, and refinance products, with much larger marketing scale and a national digital funnel.
• Earnest: Earnest specializes in student loan refinancing and private student loans with a precision-pricing underwriting approach. It competes directly with INvestEd's Refinance Loan and offers similar flexible terms, serving the same financially-savvy borrower segment.
• Sallie Mae: Sallie Mae is the largest private student loan originator in the U.S., offering undergraduate, graduate, and parent loans plus refinancing. It competes head-to-head with INvestEd's Student, Parent, and Refinance products, particularly for Indiana residents choosing between a national brand and a state nonprofit.
• College Ave Student Loans: College Ave offers undergraduate, graduate, parent loans, and refinancing with a fully online application. It targets the same Indiana-bound borrower with comparable fixed/variable rates and digital UX, making it a direct online competitor to INvestEd's loan suite.
• ISL Education Lending: ISL Education Lending (formerly Iowa Student Loan) is a state-based nonprofit student loan organization with the same mission, structure, and product set as INvestEd. It is the closest structural analog and a direct peer for nonprofit state student lenders.

Emerging players

• LendKey: LendKey operates a digital lending marketplace connecting borrowers with community banks and credit unions for student loan refinancing. It overlaps with INvestEd's refinance value proposition through a different distribution model (partner-network lending).

Broad incumbents

• Navient: Navient is a major student loan servicer and originator with broad exposure to federal and private education loans. It operates at a different scale than INvestEd but competes for refinance volume and serves the same broader borrower pool.
• Discover Student Loans: Discover offers private undergraduate, graduate, and consolidation loans as part of its larger credit card and banking franchise. It competes with INvestEd for undergraduate borrowers but is a broad incumbent with a much larger product portfolio.
• Citizens Bank (Education Financing): Citizens Bank offers private student loans and parent loans through its multi-state banking platform. As a large diversified bank, it competes with INvestEd on rate and digital experience but across a much broader consumer banking footprint.

Others

• ECMC: ECMC is a nonprofit organization that provides education finance services, including loan servicing, default prevention, and college planning resources. Comparable to INvestEd in its nonprofit, mission-driven approach to education finance and complementary in its loan-servicing capabilities.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/INvestEdIndiana
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCWcKNHvr0Szg_nFRog7TyMw
• Facebookfacebook.com/INvestEdIndiana
• Instagraminstagram.com/INvestEdIndiana
• Pinterestpinterest.com/INvestEdIndiana

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 INvestEd