Start-ups unite to offer $2000 scholarship for entrepreneurial uni students

Two start-ups have combined forces to offer a scholarship worth $2000 for Australian university students to encourage them to start their own businesses.

Finance management app Pocketbook is offering $1000 in cash and textbook start-up Zookal is offering up to $1000 worth of textbooks.

Pocketbook co-founder Bosco Tan told StartupSmart they were discussing how to get more students into entrepreneurialism when they decided to put their money where their mouths are.

“Ahmed was still in uni when they started Zookal and he’s a great example of someone who is taking charge and starting something. I’m the opposite, I have three degrees and only just got going, but we both realised a lot of what we learned in the last couple of years about how to grow a business didn’t come from uni,” Tan says.

Students don’t even need to have a business idea. Tan says they’re looking for founder potential.

“We’re looking for that edge, just like when we hire staff,” Tan says. “We want to know about a time when they had to hustle for something they wanted, because that shows initiative and the ability to make things happen.”

Students can spend the money on whatever they choose. Tan says they’re hoping they use it to buy a domain, register a business and maybe invest in a piece of technology.

The scholarship winner will also have an open invite to work with and learn from the Zookal and Pocketbook teams.

Tan adds they plan to offer one scholarship each semester. Students from any university in any discipline can apply via the Pocketbook blog.