Scholarships are a big financial help but they aren’t easy to get. As a student, Christopher Gray experienced the complexity of college applications. After developing the Scholly app, he made a deal with Lori Greiner and Daymond John on Shark Tank. Fast forward to 2025 and Scholly is worth an estimated $10 million. In August 2023, Scholly was acquired by Sallie Mae in a multi-million dollar deal.
Christopher Gray’s Background
Christopher Gray is from Philadelphia and was raised by a single mother who struggled to keep a job. Gray wanted to have a better life by studying entrepreneurship and finance at Drexel University.
He spent over seven months looking for scholarships, spending most of his time on public library computers, writing essays. In the end, Gray bagged around $1.3 million in scholarships following his strategy.
The Alabama kid became an expert in finding and winning scholarship grants. Because of this, he sailed through four years at college and got a bachelor’s degree.
Founding Scholly
Gray’s experience inspired him to create a mobile app to simplify the college application process for students. He joined forces with developers Nick Pirollo and Bryson Alef, later named as co-founders of Scholly.
The app was officially launched in 2013. It features legitimate scholarships, which has helped thousands of students get through college by providing them with relevant scholarships in minutes. The platform can make a customized list of suitable scholarships based on criteria such as GPA, race, gender and state.
A year after launching, Scholly helped students in Philadelphia receive over $9 million in scholarship funds. Christopher wanted to recruit international users, so he needed more capital to expand their reach.
Shark Tank Appearance
To move into the next phase, Christopher Gray offered the Sharks 15% of his startup in exchange for $40,000. He entered the show during season six and captivated SharkTank investors after explaining how Scholly worked.
He further intrigued the Sharks after mentioning that over $100 million worth of scholarship funds don’t get claimed every year. However, Daymond John and Lori Greiner loved the business model.
They teamed up to split the $40,000 investment without even hearing how much money Scholly was making. This caused a scene because Robert didn’t want the show to become a charity. Even with all the fuss, the Scholly founder said yes to Lori and Daymond.
After Shark Tank
Once the Shark Tank episode aired, Scholly received 80,000 requests within hours and featured in media outlets like Forbes, Fortune Magazine and Fox News. Gray has also met the likes of Oprah, Bill Gates and was invited to The White House twice.
Scholly soon became the number one college scholarship app in app stores, with over 850,000 downloads. Before Shark Tank, the app cost $0.99 but the price briefly rose to $4.99 per month.
In August 2023, Scholly was acquired by Sallie Mae (a student loan provider) and now it’s free to use! On the Apple app store, the Scholly app is rated 3.7 out of 5 based on 6,100 ratings. Following the acquisition, Gray took on a leadership role at Sallie Mae as Vice President, heading the new Education Services team.
Next he launched a new venture, Path. It’s an AI-powered platform for academic success and career readiness. Christopher also serves as a board member at Camelback Ventures, an organization dedicated to funding entrepreneurs of color.
The app has assisted students in claiming more than $100 million in scholarship funds. The company doesn’t openly share its annual revenue due to competitors. Even so, Scholly is estimated to be worth around $10 million.
