college bound
College Bound, Inc. administers IRS Section 127 educational assistance plans that help employers fund tuition and related education benefits for part-time high school and college-age employees through corporate and small-employer benefit programs.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1995
- HeadquartersWinona, United States
- Headcount—
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What college bound does
College Bound, Inc. is a private Minnesota-based company founded in 1995 by Jim Northam that administers employer educational assistance plans under IRS Code Section 127. It serves employers—particularly corporate franchise operators in the quick-service restaurant industry and small business owners—whose part-time high school and college-age employees can receive employer-funded education benefits. Employers can provide up to $5,250 per employee annually on a tax-free basis, and College Bound structures, manages, and processes the associated tuition payments and reimbursements. Participants can accrue benefits while in high school and use them for college, technical or vocational education, certificate or online programs, professional designations, and student-loan debt.
The core College Bound Program is delivered through Corporate Plans and Small Employer Plans. Its documented administration process relies on paper materials such as 1098-T tax forms, tuition bills, and tax-return verification; no proprietary software platform, application, API, or disclosed AI capability supports the service. The company also describes a reimbursement approach intended to avoid adversely affecting financial-aid eligibility. There is no participant fee: benefit dollars are supplied by employers, while College Bound's administration fees are negotiated with each employer under multi-year arrangements.
College Bound generates managed-services revenue by charging employers to administer their plans. It acquires customers through direct phone and email outreach, referrals, its website and enrollment process, and a limited social-media presence on Facebook and TikTok. Dairy Queen franchisees are the primary named corporate partner channel, while small-employer plans broaden the buyer base. The disclosed operating footprint is regional, centered on the Midwest, and the company is founder-led with no disclosed institutional funding, parent company, or acquisition strategy.
college bound firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- college bound
- Legal name
- College Bound Inc
- Website
- https://collegeboundinc.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1995
- Operating status
- Operating
- Short description
- College Bound, Inc. administers IRS Section 127 educational assistance plans that help employers fund tuition and related education benefits for part-time high school and college-age employees through corporate and small-employer benefit programs.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
college bound industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Employee Benefits Administration
- NAICS
- Educational Services (611), Educational Support Services (6117)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Facilities Support Management Services (8744)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Financial Aid Administration & Packaging (EDALAJAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Veterans, Military & Employer/Third-Party Billing Benefits (EDALAJAJ), Financial Aid Policy, Eligibility & Needs-Analysis Authorities (EDADAHAH), Scholarships, Grants & Education Benefits Administration (Financing-adjacent) (FSAKAEAM)
Keywords
Where college bound is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Winona
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
college bound business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Third Party Administrator Services: College Bound, Inc. acts as a Third Party Administrator for employer-sponsored educational assistance plans under IRS Code Section 127. Employers pay College Bound to administer their employee education benefit programs. The company helps employers structure, manage, and process educational assistance payments to qualifying student employees.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Corporate Plans - Employer educational assistance administration |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Small Employer Plans - For business owners with family members |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels4 records
college bound product offering
Product offeringCore offering
College Bound, Inc. acts as a Third Party Administrator for employer-sponsored educational assistance plans under IRS Code Section 127. The company helps employers structure, manage, and process tax-free educational assistance payments of up to $5,250 per year to qualifying part-time student employees, enabling benefits for college, technical school, vocational, certificate, and online programs as well as student loan repayment. The service is offered in two variants: Corporate Plans (for franchise employers such as Dairy Queen) and Small Employer Plans (for family-business owners funding tuition for children or grandchildren).
Product overview
College Bound, Inc. is a Third Party Administrator of Employer Educational Assistance Plans offering the College Bound Program as its core product. The program operates under IRS code section 127, allowing employers to provide up to $5,250 annually in tax-free educational assistance to employees. The company offers two plan variants: Corporate Plans targeting larger employers like quick-service restaurant franchises, and Small Employer Plans for small business owners. The program helps part-time student employees accrue money for education expenses while providing employers with a tool to improve employee retention.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- College Bound Program A qualified Educational Assistance Program under IRS Code Section 127 that allows employers to offer tuition assistance benefits to part-time student employees, helping them pay for college or technical school tuition through a voluntary employer-sponsored benefit. Participants can bank benefits while in high school for future use.
- Corporate Plans Employer educational assistance plans designed for larger corporate employers, particularly quick-service restaurant franchises such as Dairy Queen, to help recruit and retain quality student employees through tax-free tuition benefits.
- Small Employer Plans Employer educational assistance plans designed for small business owners with high school or college-age children or grandchildren, allowing them to pay part of tuition through a legitimate IRS Section 127 employee benefit plan.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 1.5 Million dollars paid to student employees in tuition reimbursement benefits
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use college bound
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
college bound technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
college bound partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Dairy Queen FranchiseescoreDairy Queen franchise owners are the primary corporate partners for College Bound. Franchisees adopt the College Bound Program as an employee benefit for part-time student workers. The program is specifically designed for and primarily implemented through select Dairy Queen franchise locations, helping these employers recruit and retain young workers while providing educational assistance.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves4 records
college bound competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- EdAssist Solutions (Bright Horizons): Direct peer administering employer-sponsored educational assistance and tuition reimbursement programs on a multi-employer, Section 127-aligned basis. Operates at materially larger scale than College Bound but pursues the same third-party administrator value proposition for employers.
- Tuition.io: Direct peer offering employer tuition reimbursement and student loan repayment administration, including Section 127 plan support. Highly comparable because both companies act as TPAs between employers and education funding - but Tuition.io typically serves larger enterprise employers with a digitized platform.
- Guild Education: Direct peer operating a tuition benefits platform that partners with employers to fund education for their workforce. Overlaps with College Bound's employer-paid education benefit model, though Guild skews toward full-time employee upskilling and degree programs rather than part-time high-school-age employees.
- InStride: Direct peer providing employer-funded education and tuition benefits administration, often structured around Section 127-style tax-advantaged employer contributions. Comparable in product intent, though typically delivers through partner universities and broader catalog programs rather than direct reimbursement.
Broad incumbents
- Bright Horizons Family Solutions: Broad incumbent via its EdAssist subsidiary; offers employer educational benefits as part of a much larger dependent-care and workforce services portfolio. Comparable as an industry leader in employer-paid education benefit administration with significantly broader scale and capabilities.
Emerging players
- SoFi Private Student Loans / SoFi at Work: Adjacent participant in employer student loan repayment and education benefits administration through SoFi at Work. Comparable employer-side value proposition around employee retention and education financing, though centered on debt repayment rather than up-front tuition.
- American Student Assistance: Nonprofit providing student loan advisory and education financing support, increasingly via employer partnerships. Shares the 'helping students finance education' mission and employer-channel go-to-market, though it operates primarily as a counseling/advisory service rather than a TPA.
Others
- Intuit Education (Intuit for Education / Mint): Adjacent ecosystem participant through employer benefits platforms and small-business payroll/benefits tools that can deliver tuition benefits at scale. Useful reference point for the kind of digitized administration College Bound lacks, but not a direct competing TPA.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
college bound social profiles
Digital presencecollege bound compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
college bound financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
college bound leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
college bound funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
college bound 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 college bound
What does college bound do?
College Bound, Inc. acts as a Third Party Administrator for employer-sponsored educational assistance plans under IRS Code Section 127. The company helps employers structure, manage, and process tax-free educational assistance payments of up to $5,250 per year to qualifying part-time student employees, enabling benefits for college, technical school, vocational, certificate, and online programs as well as student loan repayment. The service is offered in two variants: Corporate Plans (for franchise employers such as Dairy Queen) and Small Employer Plans (for family-business owners funding tuition for children or grandchildren).
Is college bound a public or private company?
college bound is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was college bound founded?
college bound was founded in 1995.
Where is college bound based?
college bound is headquartered in Winona, United States, in the North America region.
How does college bound make money?
One revenue line is on record: third Party Administrator Services.
Who are college bound's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are EdAssist Solutions (Bright Horizons), Tuition.io, Guild Education and InStride. Bright Horizons Family Solutions is listed as a broad incumbent. Emerging players are SoFi Private Student Loans / SoFi at Work and American Student Assistance. Intuit Education (Intuit for Education / Mint) is listed as an others.
Does college bound have an API?
No public API is recorded for college bound.
What industry is college bound in?
college bound's product category is Employee Benefits Administration. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDALAJAA, Financial Aid Administration & Packaging, with a secondary code of EDALAJAJ, Veterans, Military & Employer/Third-Party Billing Benefits. Its NAICS code is 611 and its SIC code is 8200.