Chicago startup EduLender, a student loan comparison search engine and graduate of accelerator Excelerate, closed on $1 million in seed funding today.

They are also proud to announce the launch of EduLender OnePay, a service made to consolidate existing federal student loans. EduLender was a startup company at midVenturesLAUNCH.

Regarding the process to landing the $1 million, Sue Khim, CEO of EduLender told midVentures, “Closing our Series A was one long lesson in following-up. Ignored emails and phone calls turned into ‘maybe.’ ‘Maybe’ turned into ‘no,’ which turned into ‘maybe’ again, before finally turning into ‘yes.’” However, she can’t be more determined to make a meaningful dent in the world with this money.

“The EduLender technology enables student borrowers to navigate the confusing maze of loan management options in a way that would be nearly impossible without their technology or the strong values of the company,” said Stephen DeBerry, Partner at Kapor Capital, one of the investors contributing to EduPay’s recent financing. “Because of who they are and how they do what they do EduLender is earning the trust of families and colleges alike. We couldn’t be prouder to invest in them.”

Other EduPay investors include Hyde Park Angels, Sandbox Ventures, New World Ventures, Excelerate, and OKCupid co-founder Sam Yagan.

Adam Koopersmith, Partner at New World Ventures, sees a lot of growth potential in the startup’s product. “Due to EduLender’s refreshingly open and honest approach to student lending,” he said, “we think there is a huge opportunity to disrupt the current system and create more value for students and colleges.”

“With millions of students receiving financial aid each year and the consequences of poor financial aid decisions so high, students and families are constantly searching for easy ways to help them make better choices,” says Sue Khim. “EduLender has and will continue to develop solutions to simplify and improve the financial aid process, with input from financial aid offices, students, and families.”

For more information about EduLender and to explore the new EduLender OnePay system, visit EduLender.com.

Edited by Meagan Lopez