How Fintech company Fynn makes business schools accessible to everyone

Fintech startup Fynn wants to help make business schools cool again.

On its website, the company describes its mission as “[bringing] safe, fair and affordable loans for students from all backgrounds at qualifying business schools.” The truth is that many people from marginalized communities—including the disabled—simply do not have the socioeconomic standing to pay their way through a traditional four-year university. College is an expensive proposition: according to a recent report, there is $1.75 trillion in outstanding student debt in the United States, which includes federal and private loans. The average borrower owes nearly $29,000 in payments. It’s a mountain of debt for everyone to take on that can be unsustainable and simply impossible to pay off. Especially for a chronically and systemically poor disabled person, a trade school may well be an opportunity to obtain gainful employment rather than having no employment at all. More precisely, attending a business school can allow a disabled person to showcase skills they may struggle to use in a conventional, often frenetic, academic setting.

Trade schools have lower costs than traditional schools – but are still expensive.

Eric Menees is co-founder and managing director at Fynn. A former researcher, his affinity for business schools runs deep. He was raised by a mother who worked in the trading room, and some of his closest friends from Houston high school pursued trading careers after graduation. Menees started Fynn because he felt strongly that a person’s financial circumstances should not dictate their educational activities. In a nutshell, Fynn makes the school more accessible, literally, for everyone.

“I know firsthand how valuable these careers are to individuals and to the country,” Menees said early last month in an email interview. “I also know how difficult it is for millions of Americans to afford these training programs.”

On a technical level, Fynn works by exploiting – what else? – artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies. The company feeds labor market and school performance data, both historical and projected, into a fully automated insurance engine that takes a more holistic view of the person applying for the loan. In addition, Fynn has developed proprietary software designed to support schools and students throughout the teaching process. Students can see if they qualify for a loan in five minutes, while schools have access to customized dashboards that allow school representatives to, for example, confirm attendance and more.

When asked why Fynn is doing this, Menees said that it is mainly about the economy.

“The American workforce is in crisis, and we are facing the greatest labor shortage since World War II,” he said. “Today, across all major industrial and allied health sectors, America is missing hundreds of thousands of essential workers.”

Menees added “employer-paid training for skilled workers has fallen steadily since the 1990s, from nearly 20% in 1996 to 11% in 2008.” As more Baby Boomer workers retire, the influx of fresh blood isn’t happening fast enough, he said.

Menees said that given the current course, the effects of the US labor shortage will continue to have “a sobering and snowballing impact – not only on our economy, but also on our communities, our culture and our daily lives”. Moreover, he said, these myriad problems range from the inconvenient to the existential. A national shortage of diesel mechanics and truck drivers, Menees said, is leading to trash piling up on sidewalks. Likewise, Menees noted a shortage of nurses and medical technicians that brought “America’s covid-taxed hospitals to a grinding halt,” he said.

According to Menees, two-thirds of workers in this country do not have a college degree — a number that includes this reporter. He cited Georgetown University analysis that found electrical and power transmission installers, for example, could see entry-level earnings of $80,000 per year, which Menees said “exceeds some Ivy League graduates.” Such statistics push back on the entrenched societal narrative that four-year colleges are the best path to higher education; Trade school graduates, Menees said, have “massive earning potential” as plumbers, electrical linemen, construction workers or HVAC technicians. One problem is that most institutions lack access to federal aid, leaving countless people in the lurch.

“Now, more than ever, we’re seeing increased interest as students try to pursue skilled work careers each year, only to be held back by their financial circumstances,” Menees said. “This is where Fynn comes in.”

In terms of feedback, the service Fynn provides has been a hit with both students and school partners. Menees told me that students see an average salary increase of 172%, while partners have reported being pleased with “how much deeper in the credit spectrum we go than traditional lenders, and how much that means to them in filling their classes and to students in pursuing their careers,” he said.

As an anecdote about the attractiveness of vocational schools, many months ago I wanted to be a pastry chef. Ever since childhood, I have always considered myself a gastronome and thus enjoyed being in the kitchen. Although I was accepted, culinary school didn’t work out, ironically, because of the cost. Had something like Fynn existed twenty years ago, my life might have been spent making crepes Suzette and profiteroles in a three-star restaurant instead of teaching preschool special education and then transitioning into journalism. The point of this anecdote is simply to say that the reason for trying culinary school was more than a deep interest in food – it was also pragmatic. As a disabled person, I couldn’t even partially afford a traditional collegiate career, so I found business school to be a good compromise. No matter how good the idea was in principle, the reality was (and remains) that culinary school is actually expensive for many, many people.

From an accessibility standpoint, disability-wise, it’s worth noting that Fynn’s digital-native mechanics may be more accessible to many than talking to a real person about a loan. Beyond the sheer discomfort of talking about financial matters with other people, it’s also true that doing everything in front of a computer can be more accessible when it comes to reducing anxiety and cognitive load. Not to mention, from a language perspective, using Fynn practically means you don’t have to worry about a speech delay like a stutter when talking to someone on the phone or in person. Although these are apparently fine details in relation to Fynn’s overall mission, the small details matter most when shaping a positive user experience for a disabled person. In other words, the little things make a big difference.

As for the future, Menees and the team hope to raise awareness of business schools.

“We want to bring an unmatched level of execution and passion into this space for borrowers, schools and employers who are overlooked and left to pick at the scraps of technology revolutions happening in other industries. There is a myriad of products to build for employers to connect directly with students, as well as a tremendous opportunity to create a better financial services experience for millions of students as they train and enter the middle class,” he said. “Ultimately, I envision a lifelong partnership with our students and the rest of the ecosystem where we can serve them well beyond the initial training. Bringing more people into the trades not only solves the skilled labor shortage that is slowly eroding our country, but it also helps rebuild the American middle class.”