October 15, 2019

How to Handle Student Loans | Nate & Mike from LendEDU

43 minutes

In today’s episode, you’ll hear how Nate created a site to help people navigate student debt called LendEDU.

You’ll hear how this website was born during college and now makes over $1M per year.

Joining Nate is one of his employees named Mike.

We cover their specific site, the industry, and tips for students today.

Listen and read below to hear this awesome business transformation.

Episode Summary

Colin’s upbringing led him to be frugal

In high school, Nate had some jobs

He didn’t really care about finance until college

His freshman year he took on a good bit of debt in 2012

Mike still has student loans

He didn’t take it seriously until graduation

Nate also worked during college

He started paying off his debts immediately

He graduated with $60 debt

$45k came after 2 years then he changed it up

He started mixing in community college

Nate and Mike met in college

Nate starts LendEDU and brings on Mike

By the time they graduated in 2016, it became a full-time job

They both highlight how little finance information is available to high school and college students

They also realize others cover their material

But they try to present it in ways more consumable by younger people

Mixing in video and shortening length

We dive into some tips for incoming freshman

Question really why you’re going to college

Do you already know your profession?

Is trade school a better option?

Then exhaust every grant and scholarship

Students should also look at what their total debt bill with be, not just year one

Nate saved $10k by mixing in community College while at a 4yr university

Then we jump into the business side of the website

They started off making $200 per month from advertisements in 2014

By the end of 2015, they were making $10k per month

By the end of 2016, they reached $50k per month

The team has scaled to 15 people

Today LendEDU makes over $1M per year working with 120 advertisers

Their reviews are all unpaid and therefore objective

Separation between the income and the rankings of products is important to them

Then we talk about unique new ways to avoid student debt

One is payback programs where you commit a percentage of your future salary

The other is where you don’t need a co-signer for your loans

Under this model, it is based more on your degree choice and time left ’til graduation

Key Takeaways

Don’t wait for success: It was awesome to see how Nate didn’t put this business off until he graduated

Hire who you trust: The team has grown to 15 and 10 of those were college classmates. Trust is often more important than qualification

White Space Can Be a Style: Plenty of companies were covering these topics but none in a way that resonated with 20-year-olds

Call to Action

Take a look at your student loans and see if there is a refinancing option or anything to make those payments fly by.

Join the Community

We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community!

Join our Facebook Group

Leave us a voicemail

Send an email to contact [at] TheFIshow [dot] com

If you like what you hear, please leave a rating/review!

The FI show on iTunes

The FI show on Android

Connect with the LendEDU Crew

Via their website LendEDU.com

Check out our Sponsors

Skillshare is an online learning platform with 30,000+ classes in design, business, and more. Join the 5+ million students currently on Skillshare and make yourself a MVSH (more valuable side hustler)! Use our custom URL Skillshare.com/FiShow for 2 free months of premium membership access. There are no commitments, it’s free to start, all the classes are free, and all the material is taught by experts. Check out Skillshare today to see how you can level up your skillset.

Learn More About Your Hosts

Fly to FI (Cody’s Blog)

Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

...more

View all episodes

By Cody Berman and Justin Taylor

4.8

296296 ratings