Giving Compass' Take:

• Li Zhou, writing for Smithsonian.com, interviews the founders of Scholly, an app that helps college students connect to scholarships to keep up with increasing tuition rates. 

• What can donors do to address the core issues of the high costs of college tuition?

• Read about how this school enrolls additional students and addresses high tuition costs.

Nick Pirollo was pitching a startup idea to Dorm Room Fund, a new student-run venture firm where Christopher Gray was partner, when the tables were suddenly turned. Gray listened to his plan to optimize the reach of hashtags, and, intrigued by Pirollo's tech expertise, approached him about co-founding and building the product for another company, one that focused on connecting students with scholarships to pay for the steep price of college, now known as Scholly.

The Scholly app provides sample essays from past winners of scholarships to guide students in the application process.

Scholly has raised $9 million for students so far. In a particularly dramatic episode of "Shark Tank," which aired in February, Gray convinced Lori Greiner and Daymond John to invest a combined $40,000 in Scholly, for a 15 percent stake in the company—a deal that ignited a spirited debate among the sharks. Pirollo and Gray share their story.

Let's start with the problem. What problem are you trying to fix?

Paying for college is expensive, complicated and way harder than it should be given how ingrained higher education is in today’s culture and professional market.

So, what exactly is Scholly? Can you give me your elevator pitch?

Scholly is a fast and easy way to find scholarships for college. The aim is to help reduce the $100 million and more in scholarships that go unclaimed every year and get students invested in funding their own education.

Read the full article about Scholly by Li Zhou at Smithsonian.com