Born and bred on the south-side of Chicago, Derrius is a rising entrepreneur and social changemaker. An alumnus of foster care, Derrius went on to gain over one million dollars in scholarship awards before entering Morehouse College, where he graduated cum laude. A sought after expert in the area of scholarship education, he is the author of the education bestseller MillionDollarScholar: Winning The Scholarship Race. The first in his family to attend and graduate from college, his scholarship journey led him to become the Founder and CEO of Million Dollar Scholar, an education technology social venture that seeks to revolutionize the financial-aid education process and increase access to higher education with an online platform that helps students learn how to win scholarships and minimize student debt.

With an interest in collective wealth building as a means to empower inner city communities, he is a Founding Partner at Gentlemen Ventures, an investment collective whose mission is to change the paradigm of wealth building for youth in inner city environments. He and his work have been featured by The New York Times, CNN, NBC MTV, and Time.

Having been to over 18 countries; Derrius is an emerging adventurer, a fan of good music, and an advocate of working hard to play hard..