What do college students and startup founders have in common? They both need money to achieve their goals. Now, aspiring entrepreneurs have another option to fund their education.
G2 Crowd, a Chicago-based business software review platform, recently launched its Entrepreneurial Spirit Scholarship program, which will award $60,000 to college students with 2.5 grade point averages or higher attending accredited colleges. The company will award $5,000 to three students every quarter beginning in the third quarter of 2018.
To apply, students ages 18 or older need to write a one-page essay explaining why they deserve the funds and how they will use them to pursue their goals. The company is specifically seeking students with the “entrepreneurial spirit,” said Meg Murphy, senior manager of marketing community and partnerships at G2 Crowd.
The company has a pretty broad idea of what the entrepreneurial spirit looks like. Generally speaking, the company regards it as how one operates under uncertain circumstances, which could mean building a product from scratch or turning an idea into something tangible, Murphy said.
“It’s something that can come in a lot of different forms,” Murphy said. “We’re hoping to see people with a drive and curiosity to implement powerful ideas and turn them into something really strategic.”
The idea of the scholarship fund emerged as a part of G2 Gives, the company’s charitable efforts, said Levi Olmstead, manager of content and community at G2 Crowd. The scholarship fund follows the company’s previous initiatives aimed at supporting new talent, ranging from its internship program and Learning Hub for up-and-coming business professionals to donating funds to the Chicago Tech Academy.
By accepting students with a 2.5 GPA or higher, the scholarship aims to support students who show potential that isn’t necessarily reflected in a student’s GPA, Olmstead said.
“I’m a first-generation college student myself from a low-income family where the options were not there,” Olmstead said. “There were a lot of people like me doing the best they could do and still couldn’t get that great GPA… Having a lower GPA [for the scholarship] is going to clear that slate for people who haven’t had a great opportunity and have been disadvantaged their whole lives.”
