Ascent
Ascent is a student finance company that has raised $86M to provide loans and financial planning tools, aiming to increase student incomes by $10 billion by 2028. It employs 132 people and recently closed a Series C round.
The growth story
Ascent grew from 73 to 132 employees between 2021 and 2026, raising $86M along the way, most recently a Series C in February 2026.
About
Ascent offers student loans and financial planning services to help students manage education costs. Its products target college students seeking funding solutions, with a focus on measurable economic impact.
The company has raised $86M, including a Series C in February 2026, backed by investors like Endeavor and Learn Capital. Its $10 billion income impact goal by 2028 suggests aggressive scaling ambitions in the education finance market.
Founders and leadership
Marketing is the largest department with 12 employees. The leadership team appears focused on scaling impact, given the ambitious income targets and recent funding.
The Ascent org chart
Ken Ruggiero (Chairman, CEO and Co-Founder) leads 44 mapped leaders with 5 direct reports. Click +N to expand a team; names link to the person’s public profile.
Departments, and which ones grew
Headcount by function: Engineering 16 (-16% YoY), Finance 16 (0% YoY), Information Technology 16 (-6% YoY), Business Development 15 (0% YoY), Marketing 14 (-7% YoY), Sales 8 (+60% YoY).
Talent flow
Employees frequently come from financial services firms like Goal Solutions and Capital One. Some alumni have founded companies including AI Answered in tech and Hill Country Haus in consumer goods.
Most common previous employers of Ascent staff: Goal Solutions (9), InsideTrack (4), Goal Financial (3), Capital One (3), Axos Bank (3), Trinity Packaging Supply (2). Former Ascent employees most often moved to Guild (2), Ultra Mobile (2), PracticeTek (2), Meta (2), ClickUp (1), Adayama Jiu-Jitsu (1).
Alumni worth knowing
Web traffic
Traffic mix: 23% direct, 25% search, 3% social, 3% paid.
What this company is made of
Most common skills at Ascent: Leadership (40), Microsoft Excel (39), Microsoft Office (38), Customer Service (36), Project Management (35), Communication (35), Management (34), Analytical Skills (30).
Where the team actually sits
Ascent people are concentrated in California, United States (57), San Diego Metropolitan Area (5), Texas, United States (3), United States (3).
Search footprint
Ascent attracts about 43,680 organic search visits a month, traffic worth roughly $699K a month if bought through ads. It gained 8,326 ranking keywords and lost 6,213 in the last period.
What employees say
- Compensation
- 4.20 / 5
- Career opportunities
- 4.00 / 5
- Senior management
- 4.00 / 5
- Work-life balance
- 4.40 / 5
Frequently asked
Ascent has 132 employees as of September 2026.
Ascent has raised $86M in total, most recently a Series C round in February 2026.
Ascent was founded in 2015 by Matthew Myers, Ken Ruggiero.
Ken Ruggiero (Chairman, CEO and Co-Founder) sits at the top of Ascent's reporting structure, with 5 direct reports.
The most common previous employers of current Ascent staff are Goal Solutions (9 people), InsideTrack (4 people), Goal Financial (3 people).
Former Ascent employees most often move to Guild (2), Ultra Mobile (2), PracticeTek (2).
Ascent attracts about 43,680 organic search visits a month, worth roughly $699K a month in equivalent ad spend.
The most common skills among Ascent staff are Leadership, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office, Customer Service, Project Management.
Ascent staff are concentrated in California, United States (57), San Diego Metropolitan Area (5), Texas, United States (3).
Ascent has about 16 people in Engineering, down 16% over the past year, as of September 2026.
Ascent has about 16 people in Finance, up 0% over the past year, as of September 2026.
Computed from 92 current and 134 former Ascent profiles, as of September 2026. Source: Crustdata.
Build this for any company
Every number on this page came from the Crustdata API. Point the MCP at a company and get the same org chart, alumni list and talent flow in one prompt.