If her plan works, she would be among the first to crack the code, using both technology and bona fide certified financial planners — the gold standard among advisers — to make this sort of help more accessible to millions of Americans. Most individuals do not have terribly complex financial lives, nor should they need to spend several thousands of dollars to get the advice they need.

But for LearnVest to succeed, Ms. von Tobel will need to sell its product — one that, let’s face it, feels a little like eating your vegetables — to a vast number of customers across the country.

LearnVest, which started in 2009 as a budgeting Web site directed at women, just received another large round of financing from big-time investors, which will allow it to hire more planners and support staff as well as open a training and adviser hub in Phoenix. The company raised $16.5 million, which comes on top of the nearly $25 million raised since its inception.

The plan is to beef up its operation so it can handle the big distribution partnerships that are in the works, including a potential deal with American Express, one of its new investors. The company has broad plans to provide its newly designed product: a seven-step, customized financial plan. Ms. von Tobel, who dropped out of Harvard Business School to start the company, also said it was working with employers and financial planning firms to sell its program within 401(k)’s.

Most financial planners focus on wealthier people, whom they can charge $1,000 to $3,000 for a financial plan, or collect 1 percent of their assets, on average, to manage their money. In contrast, LearnVest charges a $399 upfront fee and $19 a month, or $608 annually. You can pay less for help on a specific goal, like paying off debt or starting a budget.