Go Where There Is No Path: Stories of Hustle, Grit, Scholarship, and Faith

For all who dare to go off the
beaten track, this is the inspirational, power-packed playbook for transforming
your life and your world—from a young, Black social entrepreneur whose
dorm-room tech startup has helped millions pay for college and access
unprecedented opportunity. 

Gray, the
son of a single working mother who had him at age fourteen, grew up in deep
poverty in Birmingham, Alabama. An academic star, he had every qualification
for attending a top college—except for the financial means. Desperate, Gray
headed off the beaten path, searching online to apply for every scholarship he
could find.  His hustle resulted in
awards of 1.3 million dollars and became his call to action to help other
students win their own “schollys.” It inspired him to start up Scholly, an app
that matches college applicants with millions of dollars in outside
scholarships that often go unclaimed.

When he
was a senior at Drexel University, he appeared on Shark Tank as CEO of
Scholly. In the most heated
fight in the show’s history, the sharks challenged Gray as to whether his app
was a charity or a profitable business.  Both, he insisted, proposing
a new paradigm for social entrepreneurship and netting deals from Lori Grenier
and Daymond John.   

At the
time Scholly’s subscriber base was 90,000 users. Today the app has 4 million
subscribers who have won scholarships totaling more than $100 million.
Meanwhile, Gray—without help from the mostly all-white boy’s club of Silicon
Valley—has emerged as a tech startup superhero now tackling the crisis of
student debt with innovative, unrivaled strategies.

Gray’s premise is that when you
lead with the good—confronting issues such as poverty and racism—the money will
follow.  His story is proof that when you
develop a mindset for success, you turn disadvantages into gold. And when you
create opportunities for others, you enrich the marketplace for yourself
too.  

Gray shows us, we can carve out
new paths to better days and leave trails for others. 

“Go Where There Is No Path is an unforgettable read. It has everything: an inspiring, against-all-odds story of growing up as the son of a single teenage mom, an entrepreneurial tale of a young black gay man whose dorm room start-up has become a marketplace legend, and a blueprint for success—for anyone willing to take roads never traveled.”  - Chris Gardner, author of the #1 New York Times Bestsellers The Pursuit of Happyness, Start Where You Are, and Permission to Dream

"When Chris began his pitch on Shark Tank, I was immediately captivated. As an investor, I love profitable ideas that can make a difference in people’s lives. So when I heard the idea of an app to help students find money for higher education, that’s all I needed to hear before making an offer. In Go Where There Is No Path, he provides a master class in paving your own way to success. Chris is one of a kind and so too is his story of turning a million-dollar idea into a reality.” - Lori Greiner, inventor, entrepreneur, TV personality and bestselling author

“When I heard how [Chris] had learned to apply the lessons of hustle, grit, scholarship and faith that he saw all around him, I knew that I had to be a part of the Scholly ride. At every turn, Chris has expanded his vision. He merges lessons from the street with all he’s learned as a Millennial tech entrepreneur, offering guidance for all who aspire to greatness. Chris has made his sharks proud.” - Daymond John, CEO of FUBU, TV personality and bestselling author

"Gray represents a new breed of entrepreneur—one who at 22 changed the financial landscape for students from every background and who is now empowering the next generation of scholars and entrepreneurs. His book reveals how he pursued a vision that became Scholly—and is radically changing the status quo—and how you too can draw from your own story to stand out from all the rest.” - Jesse Williams, activist, former public school teacher, actor, director, producer, and leading brand ambassador for Scholly