Brands pay per application
“So the charge is basically cost per application. So it's a result based cost depending on how precise it is, how targeted it is”
Founder conversationLeader $5m+
How Scholarship Owl Reached $6M Bootstrapped With Brand-Funded Scholarship Campaigns
David Tabachnikov explains how Scholarship Owl charges brands like Samsung per scholarship application and uses non-dilutive capital to buy student traffic ahead of subscription revenue.
David Tabachnikov · Scholarship Owl
Published March 26, 2024About this resource
Explore the lesson. Sign in to access the resource library.
What you’ll learn
David Tabachnikov, CEO of Scholarship Owl, explains how the bootstrapped company draws over 150,000 Gen Z sign-ups a month and charges brands like Samsung per scholarship application, alongside a $15-a-month premium plan for students. He says last year's revenue was $6 million, and that non-dilutive capital from Founderpath lets the company buy traffic today against subscription revenue it collects over the following year.
Read the source passagesKey moments
Find the ideas you need and go straight to the source.
Student premium plan price
“They pay $15 a month for the usage of the... Of our premium features.”
Financing traffic ahead of revenue
“We basically take the money today of what we would make on that student within the next year and buy the traffic now and, you know, make that money throughout the next year.”
Negotiating from strength without VC
“we're not coming from a point of weakness when we say, well, if we don't raise now, we will die.”
Why brands target Gen Z early
“Gen Z is kind of the level that is... The point where the first decisions are being made. So somebody who chose the loyal vendor, like, in in the first year of college, they're gonna stay with them for thirty years.”
Resource files
- Watch video
Video
David Tabachnikov is the CEO of ScholarshipOwl. Building tech solutions for over 20 years, previously at Google and Waze, today he helps brands reach Gen Z audiences, through innovative AI-based solutions.
- Company revenue
- $6M
- Team size
- 34
More founder interviews
- The Next Tech Billionaire Will Be Solo
David Tabachnikov · Scholarship Owl
- How Fathom Grew to $30M ARR by Giving Its AI Notetaker Away Free
Richard White · Fathom
- How Flossy Pivoted to an AI Dental Receptionist and Grew 60-70% Month Over Month
Miles Beckett · Flossy
- How Buildern Reached $2M ARR and $40K Monthly Profit With SEO
Hmayak Tigranyan · Buildern
- How TeamSupport Builds a $10M-$25M ARR Support Business With Customer Referrals
Grant Stanis · TeamSupport
- How Lawmatics Reached $12M ARR on About $30M Raised and 20% Founder Ownership
Matt Spiegel · Lawmatics