Our story

FundStudents was born from the belief that even one student can change the course of history—if only given the chance.

Our stories came across in July 2024, when the four of us—coming from faraway corners of the world such as Córdoba, Shanghai, California and New Jersey—met at the University of Michigan during LaunchX, an entrepreneurship summer program. At first, we were just Ekansh Kali + Gordon Cao + Alan You + Franco Fontana—or "Team 11"—, enthusiastic to find problems to solve through entrepreneurship (so enthusiastic that we even had to set a “one conversation at a time” mantra—inspired by IDEO). We all came to the program with the purpose of using entrepreneurship as a force for good. 

We met friends from all over the world and mentors such as Mark Kiel (Founder and CSO at Genomenon Inc.) and Forest Richter (Founder at Fresh Coast Labs and President at LaunchX). As we gained insights into the entrepreneurial landscape, we searched for interesting and meaningful problems to solve. We discovered that they were closer than we thought.

Many of the people we met had inspiring stories, but not the financial means to pursue their education. One of us, Franco, had personally faced this challenge. Seeing the real struggles of talented students first hand made something clear: access to education shouldn’t be limited by financial barriers. We believe everyone should get the education their merit deserves.

With that mission in mind, we built FundStudents—a specialized crowdfunding platform designed to connect students with those who believe in their potential. Unlike traditional fundraising, our specialized and international approach makes it easier for students across the world to receive support from anywhere, with flexible payment options to match their needs. Students with ongoing financial need have turned problems into opportunities more often than not in order to build their own paths. This platform is the space for them to boost their efforts to a wider and caring audience.

Today, even though the founding team has followed different paths, "Team 11" has become FundStudents. Our dedication and execution has earned us the “LaunchX 2024 Extraordinary Startup Award” out of a competitive pool of 18 startups.

In brief, when asked “about us” we don’t just say we are “a crowdfunding platform”. We are a global team committed to helping students get the education they deserve and, in doing so, reshaping the future, one student at a time.