Derrius Quarles

Derrius Quarles is a tech and social justice entrepreneur, speaker and author. Born on the south side of Chicago (1990), he is the co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Breaux Capital and the co-founder of Million Dollar Scholar, an education services company that provides guidance to college-bound high school students who are seeking scholarships and grants to pursue higher education. The company has a business model in which education non-profits that already work with disadvantaged and underrepresented students to provide college preparation are partnered with and given an allotment of free advising. In 2013, Quarles was invited to the White House, where he was awarded the Points of Light Daily Point of Light Award for his work with Million Dollar Scholar. Quarles has been a speaker on the topics of funding college and higher education, youth development, social entrepreneurship, financial wellness, child welfare advocacy, and black male achievement at various venues including Harvard University, the United Nations, and TEDx.

Million Dollar Scholar

Quarles co-founded Million Dollar Scholar after securing over 1.1 million dollars in scholarship awards before graduating from Kenwood Academy High School in 2009 and being coined "a million dollar scholar" by Stephanie Banchero in the Chicago Tribune. As a first generation college student, he went on to attend and graduate cum laude from Morehouse College, where during his studies in sociology and biology he wrote MillionDollarScholar: Winning The Scholarship Race, a guide for students seeking to gain scholarships and grants for college.

Entrepreneurial activities

Beyond Million Dollar Scholar, Derrius’ entrepreneurial pursuits include being the Founder of DQ & Partners, a brand strategy firm that assist solopreneurs and very early-stage companies in brand and business development and the Co-Founder and CTO of Breaux Capital, a digital platform and membership community to help Black male millennials pool their capital, gain financial knowledge, and invest collectively which was founded as a part of his capstone work while studying education entrepreneurship at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education.

Books

• "Million Dollar Scholar: Winning The Scholarship Race" (2012) ISBN 978-1257647347
• "Becoming The Million Dollar Scholar: How I Overcame Foster Care To Gain Over $1 Million Dollars In Scholarships and What It Can Teach You" (2017)