Exclusive-Personal finance site for women LearnVest has raised $19 million in Series B funding from Accel Partners and other existing investors including, Richmond Management, Rose Tech Ventures, Circle Financial Group and PKS Capital. We’re told two additional financial parties participated in the round but these names are not being disclosed at this time. To date, LearnVest has raised $24.5 million.
LearnVest, which launched at TechCrunch50 in 2009, has a simple goal: to help women organize their finances and learn how to become financially savvy. It’s kind of like an online version of financial planner Suze Orman blended with personal finance site Mint.com.
Founded by entrepreneur Alexa Von Tobel, the startup aims to fill a big hole in terms of providing an online destination that is catered towards educating women about finance. Von Tobel tells us that the company will use the funding to continue to build better products for its users.
What makes LearnVest unique is that it goes beyond just aggregating your financial information and actually helps women become more educated about personal finance. For example, the startup launched three online programs last year, called ‘bootcamps,’ to educate women on various financial subjects, including a Financial Basics Bootcamp, Cut Your Costs Bootcamp, and Investing Bootcamp. The company also sends users a daily email with financial tips and information called the LearnVest Daily.
The Investing Bootcamp teaches women how to make smart investing decisions and properly allocate their portfolios. For three weeks, women will receive daily emails with advice and actionable items that they can perform on LearnVest, making the newsletter interactive. For example, for the Financial Basics bootcamp, one of the daily actionable items is ‘Get Your Credit Score.’ Cut Your Costs Bootcamp topic range from Bootcamp topics range from ways to save on energy bills to exactly how to negotiate a lower cable bill. Learnvest incorporates all of the information users complete and input in bootcamps into their LearnVest account.
Currently, LearnVest’s Bootcamp Programs are the focus of a $150,000 study by the Financial Literacy Center, a joint center of the RAND Corporation, Dartmouth College, and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. LearnVest is also adding two new advisors to its board, including Greg Waldorf, former CEO of eHarmony; and Greg Coleman, former President and Chief Revenue Officer of The Huffington Post, and the current President of Criteo.