The Savi Story
What Inspired Savi
The student loan system is broken. With over $1.8 trillion in outstanding loans and more than 45 million borrowers, too many people are burdened by too much debt. The middle class is being held back from their goals by a mountain of debt.
Savi Co-Founders Aaron Smith and Tobin Van Ostern have been working to fix this system and help borrowers for over 15 years. Early in their careers, Aaron and Tobin helped lead non-profit organizations fighting for student loan policy change, working directly with the Department of Education, Congress, and the White House. They worked to lower interest rates and to improve the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. Yet too many borrowers were still struggling to access the programs, either because they didn't understand their options or got tripped up by complicated paperwork. That's when Savi was born.
The Start of Savi
In 2017, Aaron and Tobin launched Savi as a Public Benefit Corporation. Leveraging their policy, technology, and business experience, they simplified the student loan application process, becoming one of the first providers in the industry to offer student loan and education benefits to millions of borrowers.
Savi Now: The Most Trusted Provider in Student Loan and Education Benefits
What started as a small startup has now evolved into one of the most trusted companies, helping borrowers find more than $5 billion in student loan savings. The company is led by a team of student loan experts who are dedicated to helping borrowers reach financial freedom. Savi is also backed by a mix of leading fintech VCs, including NYCA Partners, 9YardsCapital and AlleyCorp, and social impact investors like Lumina Foundation, WGU Labs, and Emerson Collective.
Today, Savi works with more than 10,000 partners, ranging from Fortune 500 companies and startups to associations, financial institutions, hospitals, local governments, membership groups, non-profit organizations, and universities.
What Inspired Savi
The Start of Savi
Savi Now
Guiding Principles
At Savi, we have three guiding principles that represent who we are and what we believe in. We ensure these principles are reflected in everything we do.
HONESTY
We are honest and transparent, providing clear information on how we work with partners and users, and how we make money.
IMPACT
We are mission-driven, committed to being a Public Benefit Corporation, always going above and beyond in pursuit of a positive impact.
SAVVY
We are student loan experts and advocates, combining technology with deep student debt knowledge to help our users live a debt-free life.
Our Leadership Team
Aaron Smith
Co-Founder
Tobin Van Ostern
Co-Founder
Kaela Carvalho
Director of Partnerships
Lindsay Vail Clark
Chief Borrower Advocate & Director of External Affairs
Kevin Kawaguchi
Senior Director of Engineering
Ryan Andreas
Director of Customer Success
Tony Raffa
Director of Business Development Strategy
Katie Mogul
Chief of Staff
Impact That Matters
As a Public Benefit Corporation, we strive to make a difference every day in the lives of borrowers and work with organizations that believe in social impact. One partner found that for every $1 spent on Savi, an employee receives $223 in debt forgiveness.
$5B+
Total Savings Found
$38,980
Average Lifetime Savings
3M+
Borrowers Reached
Social Impact Organizations We Work With
- AARP
- American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE)
- Arizona Association of Counties
- Association of Minnesota Counties
- National Association of Counties (NACo)
- NEA
- Oakland County
- United Way Worldwide
Savi Community Support Program
Savi strongly believes in helping all borrowers access federal repayment and forgiveness options. As a result, we have launched the Community Support Program to help targeted communities disproportionately impacted by their student loans. This program allows Savi to give free access to a range of premium services including 1-1 support and automated paperwork to at-risk borrowers through key anchor partners.
Join The Savi Team
We are a mission-driven team dedicated to helping millions of borrowers manage their student loans, reduce their payments, and achieve financial freedom. We value and respect every team member, and are proud to be a Great Place To Work Certified company! Let's work together to help fix the student debt crisis.
- 88%
of employees at Savi say it is a great place to work compared to 57% of employees at a typical U.S.-based company.
- 96%
of our employees said that when you join the company, you are made to feel welcome.
- 96%
of employees at Savi say management is competent at running the business.