Mark Cuban Invests In The App Revolutionizing Student Loan Debt

If you are struggling with paying off your student loan debt, you are in luck. Mark Cuban has recently invested in ChangEd, an app that helps students pay off their debt. The app helps students pay off debt faster, while also avoiding high-interest costs. ChangEd states, “The average $37,172 student loan can end up costing you over $60,000 if you stick to the minimum payments every month.” ChangEd is here to change the way a student pays off their debt, starting with an app on your phone.

ChangEd went on Shark Tank, and was able to clinch a deal with the one and only Mark Cuban. Founders Dan Stelmach and Nick Sky were able to convince one of the most prominent investors to help them develop their app even more. Cuban offered them a $250,000 deal for 15% equity. Stelmach and Sky’s simple, yet life changing idea convinced Cuban to invest in their app, and now they are on the road to even more success.

The way ChangEd works is simple. You connect your credit or debit card, and the app rounds up any purchases to the nearest dollar. It then sets aside the extra change to pay off your student debt. The app charges just $1 per month to use, saving the students money. Since March 2017, they have had 9,000 downloads and hope to hit $100,000 in student loan payments by the end of the year.

I believe this app will truly change the way students pay off their debt. The founders came up with the idea when Stelmach noticed how much of his payment was going to interest, and how after time his balance was not going down. Stelmach and Sky realized that setting aside change would help them pay off their loans. The founders are also working on a feature that will allow your family and friends to pitch in. ChangEd is an amazing application that will revolutionize the way student’s pay off their loan debt.

Sources:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/lorihil/2018/02/12/mark-cuban-invests-in-the-app-revolutionizing-student-loan-debt/#c82868b66153

https://www.business2community.com/entertainment/shark-tank-changed-student-loan-app-accepts-250000-offer-mark-cuban-02002649

4 thoughts on “Mark Cuban Invests In The App Revolutionizing Student Loan Debt

  1. The ChangEd app is a simple but great solution to help students paying off part of their student loan debt without even thinking about it. It provides a simple and mindless solution to a huge problem that millions of students struggle with for years after graduation. Personally, I did some research and found an article on the USA Today College website that talked about ChangEd and five other apps that are also great for paying off student loans. The first app they talked about was “Loan Hero” that allows students to sync all of your student loans into one place so you can keep track of all of them at once. In addition, it also allows you to make additional payments or get on a payment plan that works for you.
    The next app they discussed was called “Unbury.me” which is free and easy to use. This application simply allows the user to experiment with different debt payment strategies and provides simple graphs that allow users to actually visualize their loan debt. Next, they talked about “Debt Payoff Assistant” which is also a free app for any user. Similar to Unbury.Me, this app lets you try different payment options and also reminds you of approaching payments each month. They also discussed trying your debt servicer’s mobile app to help pay off student loans. While this may seem redundant or obvious, this can be a great way to easily keep track of your loan debt and easily view your account(s). Finally, they also discussed “CreditWise from Capital One.” This application is free and allows you to build your credit score while also paying off your student loans. The app also shows you certain factors that are either helping you build up your credit or are pushing it down.

    Student loan debt is something that is a huge problem for so many people after graduating from college. It can definitely feel very overwhelming when you graduate from college and are immediately expected to start paying back student loans while you are just starting to find a job for the first time. While all of these apps do seem helpful for students in different ways, I personally think that I would most likely use the ChangEd app. All of the other applications are great for looking and managing your student loan debt however, the ChangEd app allows users to save money in the simplest way possible. I can definitely see myself using this app because I would feel like I’m getting somewhere (even if I’m only putting aside pocket change little by little…)

    http://college.usatoday.com/2017/04/15/apps-paying-student-loans/

  2. Student loan debt is a big problem in the world, especially in the USA. The ChangeEd app aims to help students out by saving their change on their purchases made on debit cards. This is extremely helpful because as students we make many purchases on a daily basis and don’t even think twice about the change.
    I know my college decision was based solely on a monetary reasons. I got into the University of Miami and USC but both schools had price tags of around 70 thousand. I decided that I wouldn’t want to go into debt for life, because my student loans would be way to high going to those schools. Instead I came to Penn State as an in-state student with a scholarship so throughout my 4 years at state I have to pay around the same amount as one year at USC or Miami. This decision will help me monetarily down the road because my student loans will be very low after graduation. Either way, I still have to pay a lot of money after college so I am very concerned about student loan debt and the interest accumulated on it. I think I’m going to look into this app so I can start paying off my student loans and have a lower amount to pay off once I graduate.

  3. I believe student debt is one of the biggest financial problems for people and in households all across the country. When students are given the opportunity to be provided with a great education there is always a catch. Depending on the college you go to, tuition tends to be higher. That simply just seems unfair to me how some colleges are more expensive to go to than others. I understand the education, benefits and opportunities are very different but somehow that still seems unfair. Penn State is known to be one of the most expensive schools leaving a very high percentage of their students in major debt. I think ChangEd is a brilliant idea for those who are preparing for college and those who are out and still need to pay off their past debt. This app will change the way students have to decide on a university. Students will get to choose the school they want versus the school they have to go to based on the amount of tuition. While I was applying I was blessed enough to be told not to worry about that with my parents however I saw many of my closest friends and classmates had to be very selective with what schools they apply based on tuition. This app will change the way people think about their financial lives. This will eliminate a lot of major issues with big costs like buying a car, a house, etc. I really like how the app allows you to have friends and family pitch in. In a way it is similar to GoFundMe but for a common reason that a lot or people share; avoiding debt. I think the friends and family feature will help in major issues such as a death in the family, an unfortunate accident or anything unexpected where people can pitch in to help. Overall, I think Cuban made a great investment where he can bring it to new levels.

  4. ChangEd sounds like a great app. I am definitely interested in checking it out now. I have watched Shark Tank for years, because I love all of the creative ideas the entrepreneurs bring on to the show. I know that, personally, I am going to have a lot of student debt by the time I graduate, and I actually had savings prior to attending Penn State. Many of my friends are going to struggle even more than I am, because they did not have any savings or are not receiving help from their parents.

    Saving money is a huge advantage to students, but also to everybody in general. Nobody wants to just throw money away, so this app’s main goal makes downloading it very attractive. Sticking to the minimum payments each month sounds like a reasonable plan for paying off your student debt, until you realize how easily 37 thousand dollars can turn into over 60 thousand dollars. It can be very discouraging to put money toward your student debt, but only see that most of it goes toward your interest, and not the actual balance to lower it.

    I have seen other apps that work in this same way, where you connect a credit or debit card to the app, and the change of every purchase you make goes to your savings. The app I know of is called Acorns. It is set up in a very similar way. It charges 1 dollar per month to use the services. For every purchase you make, it puts your change into an investment account, which it claims can save you 1,000 dollars each year.

    Simplicity is key with an app like this. Having easy access to it, such as being an app, makes it just that much easier and user friendly for students to access. It will be important for the makers of ChangEd to spend a lot of time and effort with the app developers to ensure the app will develop completely and run smoothly. If a lot of people have issues with the app crashing, they will get frustrated, delete the app, and even possibly leave bad reviews and ratings. The bad ratings and reviews will discourage other students from getting the app, so it is important for ChangEd to work very smoothly as quickly as possible.

    Having people invest in your idea is a great advantage for any entrepreneur to have when trying to get your product off the ground, and in this case, the app. The money that comes from these investors who believe in your creation’s success can greatly contribute to how successful it ends up being. If the money is used correctly, the app will flourish.

    The source I used to fact-check my knowledge is https://www.bankrate.com/banking/savings/set-aside-your-spare-change-with-these-money-saving-apps/ , but I did already know about the app Acorn. I just wanted to double check on the amount it claims to save users.

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