With $20 Billion In Consumer Debt Under Management, Credit Sesame Closes $12 Million Series B

Personal finance service (and TechCrunch Disrupt alum) Credit Sesame has just secured $12 million in Series B funding. The round was led by Globespan Capital Partners, and included participation from Credit Sesame’s existing investors, Menlo Ventures and Inventus Capital.

The financing will help the company continue its product development and market reach, CEO Adrian Nazari tells us, and in the next three to six months, we’ll see a lot of new capabilities added to both the mobile and web version of the service. The features will offer consumers even more insights into their current debt situation and give them more ways to save money, he says.

Given the current economy, Credit Sesame is a startup focused on a very timely issue: it helps consumers get out of debt. While other services like Intuit-owned Mint.com look at a person’s bank accounts, investments, budget and goals, Credit Sesame is solely focused on the “liability” side of the balance sheet, meaning your credit and loans. Using advanced analytics developed by Stanford University scientists then vetted by top banks, Credit Sesame is able to analyze a person’s current debt situation and then make recommendations as to how they can make improvements.

It is not, however, in the lead generation business. “Most lead generation businesses are very wide and shallow,” says Nazari, “they’re sort of like a house of cards, ready for disruption.” He says that consumers don’t want to be lured into clicking on things that are essentially meaningless to them – what they really want is to be guided and given insight into their current financial situation.

Currently, the startup recommends various loan and credit options based on its analysis of a person’s debt. And with its recently launched iPhone application, users can see this information on the go, including their credit score (from Experian). Today, 15% of Credit Sesame users are now also mobile users. An Android version is expected to arrive by the end of Q3 2012.

While Nazari won’t disclose Credit Sesame’s user numbers, he says that it’s now managing $20 billion in consumer loans through its service, and is saving its users over $170 million per month through its recommendations. 48% of users are active, returning to the site two or more times per month. The company has been doubling its growth quarter over quarter, and has seen revenue increase by 4 times quarter over quarter, he tells us.

With all the growth, the company is hiring “in a very big way,” Nazari adds, with 18 open positions in marketing, development and design. “Our business model is working, it is producing. Adoption is great, engagement is great,” he says, “so we want to scale the business at this point.” The company is also looking into expanding from its current home in Sunnyvale, and has plans to set up shop somewhere a bit north, likely in the San Francisco Bay area.

Founded in April 2010, Credit Sesame had previously raised $7.35 million in funding.