Looking for a loan? But your credit is deemed worthy by some of the large financial institutions within the country. Look no further. That is where Avant comes to save the day.

Avant, originally AvantCredit, was founded in 2012 by Al Goldstein, John Sun and Paul Zhang in the windy city of Chicago. These three young entrepreneurs noticed a need that individuals were having when they could not gain credit because they were deemed too risky. If you think Avant has had no recognition you are dead wrong. In 2015, Avant was named #6 to Forbes America’s Most Promising Companies list as well as Forbes list of Next Billion Dollar Startups. The CTO, Zhang, was also named to the 30 under 30 list by Inc. Magazine.

Avant is a completely online company, eliminated the need of any physical branches. They apply various algorithms, machine-learning protocols, and analytical tools in in order to determine a customized rate, amount and length at which money can be borrowed. In just three years Avant has provided over $1 billion in loans and grown from 3 founders to over 600 employees. Not only are they providing capital to “risky” borrowers but they have a mission to teach their consumers proper budgeting techniques to continue improving their own personal money management skills.