Gumball Capital

Gumball Capital is a social equity firm committed to raising awareness and funds for microfinance through student entrepreneurship. Initiated by a group of ambitious characters at Stanford University, Gumball envisions an entire generation of young entrepreneurs committed to poverty alleviation through microfinance.

Microfinance itself entails the practice of making small loans to raise low-income entrepreneurs from poverty. Similar to placing a coin into a gumball machine, every micro-credit lent allows the recipient entrepreneur to move one step closer to the “exit tunnel,” and achieve greater wealth and stability.

We as an organization aim to spread the scope of microfinance to college students through a national entrepreneurial competition – The Gumball Challenge. With only a $27 micro-loan and a box of gumballs, student-entrepreneurs at participating universities compete to enterprise business models and advocacy campaigns within the span of a week.

No 20-page Business Plan. No two-month application process. Just you, $27, one week, and your genius ideas. There's also the added bonus of knowing that the money each competitor raises during The Challenge goes to The Gumball Fund, and in turn to low-income entrepreneurs around the world.

This process, we hope, will inspire the ingenuity and creativity in every student entrepreneur. By engaging them in the small-loan fiscal model, and in turn educating them about microfinance, Gumball Capital provides a platform for student entrepreneurs to realize their ambitions while at the same time support less fortunate entrepreneurs around the world.

• Ian Fisk wrote (2 years ago):

  The William James Foundation has announced 8 competitions that together provide $100,000 in cash and in kind support for sustainable entrepreneurs. Entrants can be of any age or from anywhere in the world. First round deadline is December 4th. Details at: www.williamjamesfoundation.org/press.

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• Barry Seifer wrote (2 years ago):

  Cool. Beyond Profit would like to learn more about bringing this to the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Please help me understand this part..."student-entrepreneurs at participating universities compete to enterprise business models and advocacy campaigns within the span of a week."

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