BostInno
A Boston Startup Thinks IT Can Make Employers Pay Down Student Loans
By: Olivia Vanni
FutureFuel, a Boston-based startup looking to make student loan payments an employee benefit norm, launched its online hiring marketplace Tuesday. The company, which was founded by former Google exec and MIT Sloan alumna Laurel Taylor, is hoping to not only address the growing student debt crisis, but also help businesses avoid issues like employee retention and the STEM skills gap. And it's in the midst of raising funds, with "seven figures" already secured.
“There’s a wealth gap for those who have student debt,” Taylor told BostInno. “It’s very personal for me because I have lived it. I’ve had over $150,000 in student debt in my lifetime.”
FutureFuel will be teaming up with companies, allowing them to differentiate themselves from other employers by offering five to 10 percent compensation in the form of student loan payments, each year for three years. That’s on top of already competitive salaries and benefit packages.
The online service will also provide a different experience for users by going beyond the traditional resume. For example, job candidates can easily share videos, web links and portfolios with businesses, while connecting with them via chat.
“As soon as a user is hired through the platform, we facilitate the loan payments between employers and user’s lender,” Taylor said. “The user is passive and receives notification when we’ve facilitated that transaction.”
To begin, FutureFuel will focus on serving users in technical and clinical fields. Taylor believes companies in these areas are the most in need of upping their incentive games to attract top employee talent.
“I’ve worked in tech and have been a hiring manager,” she said. “I’ve had to hire these professionals and seen the scarcity. Our beta is for tech professionals and clinical people, the two industries where there’s a huge scarcity in the work force. These employers need an edge to gain access to scarce talent. We want them to make it compelling to drive loyalty and retention, which is why the payments are distributed over three years time.”
The venture is still working out a revenue model, testing several strategies now that the beta is live. “We have future monetization strategies but we have to first win before talking about that,” Taylor explained. She added that they will be experimenting with a SaaS model and transaction fees per placement.
For the most part, Taylor has personally invested in building FutureFuel. However, outside capital is coming its way.
“We're not announcing specifics yet since we're still raising, but we are comfortable sharing that we've raised seven figures so far,” Jessica Douglas, a spokesperson for FutureFuel, told us.
