Earnest launches with $15M funding for its merit-based personal loans program

San Francisco-based merit-based loan startup Earnest has launched and announced the closing of $15 million round of funding. Investors include Andreessen Horowitz, Atlas Venture, Collaborative Fund, First Round Capital and Maveron. The company’s lending program is ‘merit based’ and targets new college graduates and young professionals. Rather than relying on a traditional credit score to determine credit worthiness, Earnest conducts a “data-driven evaluation” of an applicant’s financial profile, considering current and future income earning potential.

It was founded last year by former Andreessen Horowitz partner Louis Beryl and Benjamin Hutchinson. This is Earnest’s first round of outside funding.