College Cash: tackling America’s $1.7T student debt problem

“Going to college is so affordable,” said no one ever. Au contraire, we’ve got a problem on our hands:

• 65% of US college graduates have student loans
• The average loan amount is $37k
• Student debt collectively totals $1.7T

Enter College Cash. It’s a startup that’s helping students repay their debt in a novel way: A marketplace of brands compensates students by paying off part of their debt in return for user-generated content (“UGC”).

Its founder, Demetrius Curry, is currently looking to raise a $1m seed round to make it a reality.

College costs keep rising…

… and as a result, graduates owe 26% more than they did 10 years ago.

Curry was moved to take action after realizing the cost of his own daughter’s future education. He’s even gone as far as to sell his own plasma to pay for web hosting fees to get his idea off the ground.

Per TechCrunch, his startup allows brands to ask users to create photo and video content for their respective service or product.

Why UGC?

• It’s 20% more influential than other types of media
• 93% of customers appreciate UGC when making a purchase

Where does College Cash go from here?

Short-term, the focus is on fundraising. Long-term, Curry envisions College Cash providing additional ways to fund college.

One idea: a tip integration within gig economy platforms (e.g., DoorDash) for workers paying for school.

So… no debt, no problem? Fingers crossed.