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Pave Spent $1.7 Million Trying to Sell Shares in People - Then Learned Everyone Preferred a Loan
The New York fintech began with a provocative bargain: fund a young person now and share in their future income. Its retreat into ordinary loans is a compact lesson in why financial products must be understandable before they can be clever.
Tess Michaels
Tess Michaels is the founder and CEO of Clasp (formerly Stride Funding), a Boston fintech that ties student loan repayment to employment - 'ROTC, but for healthcare.' Employers commit to clinical students before graduation and pay down their loans in exchange for years of tenure. A Wharton grad and Harvard MBA who cut her teeth at Goldman Sachs and Vista Equity, Michaels built her first company at 19. Clasp raised a $20M Series B in March 2026 and employers have committed more than $130M in loan repayment, with retention reportedly 2.5x higher than traditional hiring.