StepEx Competitors

Earnest was founded in 2013 on the belief that getting a loan shouldn’t be so difficult for financially responsible people. We are bringing back the trust that was previously lost in financial systems. We look beyond a credit score, instead of analyzing a person's full education, employment, and financial profile to reward financially responsible people with better rates than traditional lenders. For recent college graduates, repaying student loans can be a stressful financial burden as you embark on your career. This is why Earnest offers student loan refinancing with low-interest rates and zero fees. Refinancing your student loans with Earnest gives you the option to choose a repayment plan that fits your budget and the option to choose between a variable or fixed interest rates. We also offer extras like the ability to skip a payment, change your payment amount and date, and the ability to repay your loan faster without penalties. Navigating loans to pay for school can be a long and confusing process. This outdated process inspired us to create a new private student loan product, with new tools to simplify every step of the application and approval process. Led with technology, data, and design to engineer a more human application experience, Earnest’s private student loans incorporate an innovative eligibility check, cosigner invite, ability to customize your loan, and a 9-month grace period. We have no fees and offer flexible repayment options and extras like skip a payment. Learn more about Earnest’s products at www.earnest.com. For employees, Earnest’s culture is as dynamic as the products we are building and defining every day. Earnest offers great perks including a generous paid time off policy, catered meals, annual flight to anywhere in the world with a buddy (up to $1,000), and more.

For almost a century, regulatory barriers made it difficult for individuals to invest in private markets, giving billion-dollar institutions preferred access. The result has been that most investors have been limited to public markets and excluded from private investments—ranging from real estate to venture capital. Technology is finally disrupting this status quo. Enter: Fundrise, America’s largest direct-to-consumer private markets manager. We built our technology platform to bridge the barrier. Software allows us to achieve the scale of institutions without the bureaucracy. Combining our technology and investment expertise, we are pioneering a new model to build you a better portfolio.

Kiva (www.kiva.org) expands financial access to help underserved communities thrive. An international non-profit, we serve the financially excluded, especially underbanked women, refugees and communities impacted by forced displacement, climate-vulnerable people and systemically marginalized communities in the United States. By connecting people through crowdfunded loans, Kiva puts the power of financial inclusion in all our hands. Since 2005, the Kiva community has raised over $2 billion in loans, reaching over 5 million people in 84 countries. Kiva’s team is made up of 100+ employees and 450+ volunteers across the world, with offices in San Francisco, Nairobi, Bangkok, and Bogotá.