This startup helps student debtors move from payments to planning

Most companies help their employees save for retirement. But for a generation burdened with student loan debt, paying off those balances is often a higher priority. Candidly, a New York-based startup which started working on this problem in 2016, helps employees optimize their debt through loan consolidation and income-based repayment plans, among other mechanisms.

The startup also makes it easy for companies to match employees’ student-loan payments with tax-free retirement plan contributions, as outlined in the Secure 2.0 legislation that President Biden signed into law in late 2022. Candidly, which announced $20.5 million in Series B financing in March 2023, saw its revenue increase tenfold last year and notched a 3,600% increase in dollars flowing through its platform toward student loans. Most importantly, Candidly helps borrowers pay off their debt faster, allocating more of their income to planning for the future instead of drowning in the past. Seventy-five percent of the company’s end users are women or people of color.

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