( ENSPIRE Feature ) Lori Greiner, Daymond John, Donna Vieira, and Christopher Gray Revisit Scholly in a Shark Tank Special
ENSPIRE Contributor: Matthew Carbonell
An astounding announcement was made on the March 15th, 2024, episode of Shark Tank. The Sallie Mae CCO, Donna Vieira, and the founder of Scholly, Christopher Gray, returned to Shark Tank almost ten years after Scholly’s debut episode. During this return special, a $1 million contribution was made from The Sallie Mae Fund to the Thurgood Marshall Fund. Also, two $10,000 scholarships were announced for two Bayside High School students, Giselle Rodriguez and Amir Theodile.
These contributions are more personal than most may realize as Bayside High School is also Daymond John’s alma mater. The purpose of these generous contributions is to support the education of students in underserved communities. Sallie Mae, which acquired Scholly in 2023, is a scholarship search and match platform with 5M+ users and $100M in scholarships matched to date.
Scholly by Sallie provided insight into the Shark Tank episode and the amazing contributions announced.
What determined the eligibility needed to get the two $10,000 scholarships?
Firstly, you must be enrolled as a high school senior from the 2023-2024 academic year. Then, I plan to be a full-time student during the 2024-2025 academic year. Next, Plan to enroll at an accredited post-secondary institute or continuous education program during the 2024-2025 academic year, whether it is a two-year school, four-year school, or Vocational/Technical certificate/certification program.
Grades are also important, so you must have a current cumulative grade point average of 2.75 or higher. You must also be Pell-Grant eligible, a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident with a valid permanent resident card or passport stamped I-551, and a diverse candidate. Diverse shall include, but not be limited to, Gender, Disability, Race, Ethnicity, and Belonging to an underrepresented community.
We looked for leadership abilities and the ability to demonstrate good moral character in all aspects of your life. This includes personal, professional, educational, community, and online presence. It was a tough choice because, realistically, we would want to give to everyone who deserves it. However, Giselle Rodriguez and Amir Theodile showed how exemplary they are, and it felt right that the scholarships should go to them.
Since “The Greatest Fight in Shark Tank History” including Christopher Gray and the Sharks, how has Scholly grown?
Since appearing on Shark Tank in 2015, Scholly has scaled to serve millions of users and has provided
access to more than $100 million in scholarships. “Scholly Search” connects students with various scholarships and shortens the search process. While academic and athletic scholarships are often the most well-publicized, there are scholarships available for almost anything. All of which are widely available using the right search tools. There is a misconception that students must be geniuses or star athletes for a scholarship funding opportunity. But this could not be further from the truth.
Scholly Search helps its users identify previously unknown opportunities and reduce the cost barrier to securing a higher education. Founder Christopher Gray also launched “Scholly Offers” to match its users with strategic partners that promote financial literacy and opportunities. This helped users effectively plan and save for college. As a result, Scholly rose to rank as the #1 scholarship app in the world on the App Store.
Our scope and reach also expanded through its partnerships with global brands. In 2022, Gray
announced the launch of the Scholly-administered and Google-funded $10,000 Women in Tech
scholarship program, which specifically targets high school or undergraduate women who are Black,
Latina and/or Native who are pursuing a computing-related degree. The scholarship resulted in more
than $200,000 awarded to 20 students, with a second round of recipients to be named later
this year.
Similarly, we launched a partnership with university-focused hospitality company Graduate Hotels. It awarded three students a $50,000 scholarship totaling $150,000 to attend the college of their choice. The brand’s collaboration with Freeform ran a competition funding grants of up to $125,000. The grants helped students and graduates pay off their outstanding student loans, ultimately attracting over 150,000 applicants.
In 2020, Scholly tapped the global streaming platform Netflix to launch the “13 Reasons Why Scholarship”. The scholarship gave away $50,000 to ten graduating high school students inspired by the original series.
What is the relationship between Sallie Mae and Scholly and how does this solve the pain points in scholarship hunts for students and parents?
Last year, Scholly was acquired by education solutions company Sallie Mae. This acquisition elevated Christopher as one of the few Black tech founders to successfully complete a market exit. Sallie Mae’s widespread reach has led to a spike in Scholly’s app downloads and vastly increased Scholly’s capacity to serve students from underrepresented communities. As part of the acquisition, Scholly is now free-for-all students and families.
Partnering with Sallie Mae aligned perfectly with our goal to connect more students to scholarships, ultimately helping to make higher education more affordable. Sallie Mae’s mission is to power confidence as students begin their unique journeys. Connecting students to scholarships through Scholly is key to that mission and can help make education more accessible and affordable.
Please further explain Sallie Mae’s mission and why contributions like these are important.
As an education solutions company, Sallie Mae is focused on providing access to tools and resources like Scholly to help families navigate to, through, and immediately after higher education. Besides its Scholly acquisition, the company has launched several scholarship programs through The Sallie Mae Fund to support higher education access and completion.
Since 2021, The Sallie Mae Fund has partnered with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund to award $1 million in scholarships annually to help students from underserved and underrepresented communities access and complete higher education. Additionally, the company committed a $1 million research grant to Delaware State University to help close the college completion gap. The $1 million contribution will fund a three-year pilot program to understand barriers to college completion better and help students return to school and complete their degrees.
In addition, the Sallie Mae Fund contributed $200,000 to the HBCU Week Foundation to support the access of students of color to HBCUs.
Lastly, what probably every young entrepreneur might want to know: What was it like for Christopher Gray to work with Sharks?
Appearing on Shark Tank was transformative for our business. Investors Lori Greiner and Daymond John have been crucial partners for Scholly throughout its entire journey—from Shark Tank to acquisition. Their operational expertise, strategic introductions, and rigorous support of our mission to promote access to education solutions served as a catalyst to successfully scaling the company.
Returning to ‘Shark Tank’ for our company update represented a full-circle moment for Scholly and me. From a first-generation college student from Birmingham, Alabama, to entrepreneur, to ‘Shark Tank’ alum, and now to part of the Sallie Mae family, it has been a unique, challenging, and rewarding journey. What makes me especially proud is how many dreams of higher education we’ve helped make a reality through Scholly.
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