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Christopher Gray      

Social Entrepreneur, Executive & Investor; Founder of Scholarship Connection App Scholly

After winning $1.3 million in scholarships himself, Christopher Gray founded Scholly, an app that helps students find scholarships for college and graduates pay off their student debt. Scholly was featured on ABC’s "Shark Tank," securing a deal with Daymond John and Lori Greiner. Scholly has amassed over 4 million users and helped them secure over $100 million in scholarships. In 2023, the app was acquired by Sallie Mae, leading Gray to transition into heading the Education Services team. He also serves as a chairman at Path, an AI-powered platform for academic success and career readiness.

Gray launched the Scholly Scholarship Summit in early 2018, a live touring event designed to provide educational guidance. He is also a U.S. Embassy Speaker for the U.S. State Department and has spoken at influential gatherings such as the Obama Foundation’s My Brother’s Keeper Summit and TEDx San Diego. His contributions to education and entrepreneurship are recognized through numerous accolades, including the 2018 Beacon Award from the Information Technology Senior Management Forum and positive testimonials from engagements at institutions like Stanford University and the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation.

Gray authored the book "Go Where There Is No Path: Stories of Hustle, Grit, Scholarship, and Faith," which documents his story of growing up in poverty with a single mother and his journey to creating his dorm-room tech start-up inspired by his own struggle of trying to afford college. He has been featured in major publications like the New York Times, Forbes, and CNN, consistently promoting Scholly's approach to addressing the student debt crisis in the United States. Through his personal experiences and commitment to academic achievements, Gray has empowered and inspired youth globally to pursue education.

Speech Topics

How I Overcame Poverty, Won $1.3 Million in Scholarships & Built a World Class Company Before 30

Raised by a single mother of three and often homeless, Christopher is no stranger to struggle. At an early age, he understood that education was the only way to conquer his circumstances. Determined to attend and graduate college, Christopher needed money to achieve his dream. This talk will focus on Christopher’s self-motivation, how he rose above unfortunate circumstances to find more than $1.3 million in college scholarships, what he learned from the experience, and how he filled a need in the marketplace by creating web and mobile app, Scholly.

Building a Company as a Millennial  Entrepreneur

This talk provides insight on approaching and pitching investors; taking an idea to product, and, ultimately, the marketplace. Using personal examples, Christopher will discuss the skills, resources, and tools needed for young innovators to create and fund an enterprise.

Leveraging Technology to Scale Social Impact

Now, more than ever, advances in technology help nonprofit organizations worldwide advance their missions and allow corporations to fulfill their commitment to social responsibility where their employees live and work. This talk focuses on Scholly’s commitment to make quality education accessible and affordable to everyone.

Diversity in the Tech Industry & Work Force

Diversity drives better products, increased revenue opportunities, and ultimately a more cultured workforce. In this talk, Christopher will discuss how diversity allows companies to create better products that resonate with a large market, how it increase revenues, and, ultimately creates a more cultured workforce that is better enabled to serve customers and create a comfortable, inclusive environment for everyone. Christopher will also provide insight and recommendations for how companies can work differently with recruiters to change the way we think and bring different candidates to the table at the talent acquisition stage - within tech start-ups as well as generally.

Tackling the Student Debt Crisis

Student debt in the United States is a whopping $1.3 trillion. There is a lot of scholarship money available. The problem is finding it. In this talk, Christopher will discuss how Scholly is tackling the student debt crisis in the United States, as well as give suggestions on ways to minimize college debt and how doing so will affect career and lifestyle.

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