When PeduL CEO Chisa Egbelu’s close friend left Rutgers to attend a prestigious music program in 2014, it seemed like a path to a dream come true. A few months later though, despite all the scholarships and financial aid his friend received, there was the realization that he’d never be able to fulfill his dream because the tuition was simply too high.
Chisa wondered why there wasn’t a Kickstarter for college, and soon after PeduL was born.
At its core, PeduL is a crowdfunding platform that helps students fundraise money for college. Helmed by Rutgers students Egbelu and co-founder Kayla Jackson, the startup became official in July 2016 and already boasts corporate sponsors, celebrity partnerships and even a few startup competition victories.
Their most recent victory came at UPitchNJ hosted at Princeton University, where they represented Rutgers and competed against 12 other university startups. Presenting themselves as “the most personal and secure way for students to fundraise their higher education expenses online,” they walked away with the top prize, which included $1,500 cash and $20,000 worth of consulting and other prizes.
When Egbelu first conceived PeduL, it was nothing more than an idea. But after many brainstorming and planning sessions over a period of months, he and Jackson were able to bring the platform to where it is today.
For Jackson, PeduL’s mission was personal. She turned down golf scholarships to attend her dream school NYU, only to find out she’d be $40,000 in debt for each year she attended.
“It was heart-wrenching for me,” said Jackson. “Preparing my entire high school career only to find out I couldn’t go, not because I didn’t deserve it or wasn’t qualified, but because I couldn’t afford it.”
PeduL sets itself apart from other crowdfunding resources in two ways. First, the company transfers all funds students raise directly to universities in the form of a scholarship, providing complete donor transparency. In Jackson’s mind, however, what will take PeduL to greater heights is their partnerships with corporations and scholarship providers; instead of spending hours sifting through applications and vetting possible candidates, PeduL takes that process out of their hands, finding the most deserving students based on factors such as merit or financial aid.
Each year, an exorbitant amount of scholarship funding is left unclaimed by students – around $2.9 billion – simply because they aren’t applying, according to Jackson.
“It’s a strenuous process for students to apply for every scholarship,” said Jackson. “So if they have a one-stop shop to access all that capital, it might be easier for students to access that funding.”
With this framework in mind, PeduL quickly sought, and received, funding. Their first pitch was in April 2016 to IDT Ventures, who had just recently opened up their investment arm. After a very short period of deliberation, they decided to invest, and PeduL entered their incubation soon after.
From there, the ball started rolling even faster. They soon signed a partnership with First Tee, as well as a few high schools in cities such as Newark and Baltimore. Then, they pitched to Google that came about through a series of introductions.
One of their IDT advisors introduced them to Cleveland Cavalier Dahntay Jones, who in turn hooked them up to his wife, Valeisha Butterfield Jones, Google’s Head of Black Community Engagement. Butterfield then became an advisor.
This led to some advice for their scholarship model. After a few more sit-downs with people like Rutgers professor Kevin Lewis and the managing director of Techstars, they finalized their model and began entering competitions and seeking more funding.
They won a regional Global Student Entrepreneurship Award. They won the “I Have a Dream Summit” at NYU. And most recently of course, they tacked on UPitchNJ as their latest victory.
Now, they’re eyeing a beta launch within the next few weeks. They have 20 initial fellows, and their goal is to raise $100,000 among the group within 45 days. They’re confident that even when more students sign up, they’ll be able to take advantage of the $2.9 billion in unclaimed scholarship funds and connect more students with opportunities to go to their dream schools.
