Derrius Quarles

Born and bred on the south-side of Chicago, Derrius marched through poverty and 13 years of foster care after losing his father to violence and being separated from his mother to become a first-generation cum laude graduate of Morehouse College, securing over $1 Million in scholarships before leaving high school. An entrepreneur, web designer, keynote speaker, and author; he is unapologetic about using technology and business to improve Black Lives. His first book, Million Dollar Scholar: Winning The Scholarship Race has helped thousands of students across the globe increase their knowledge of how to make higher education more affordable through scholarships and grants and his business ventures have collectively impacted the lives of over 65,000 marginalized youth in America. His op-ed, “To Be a Black Man In An Office Full of White People” has been read over 100,000 times and is one of LinkedIn’s most read articles on race in workplace environments. In 2015, he was honored by Barack Obama at the White House for his activism in expanding educational access and most recently he was featured in Black Enterprise’s list of 100 Modern Men. His work has been highlighted by The Associated Press,, Huffington Post, CNN, MTV, Time Magazine, and BET amongst others.

He is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of BREAUX Capital – a fintech company that is helping the 70% of Black millennials (starting with Black men) who self-report that they are would in a financially healthy position enhance their financial wellness through a powerful combination of software that automates savings behavior, peer crowdsourced knowledge, and culture. BREAUX Capital has already impacted the lives of Black men from Los Angeles to New York and is poised to show the world the power in shifting the conversation away from financial literacy into one of financial wellness for Black and brown people.

He is also the Founder and CEO of Million Dollar Scholar, an education technology social enterprise helping low-income high school students acquire scholarships to for the pursuit of higher education with little to no-debt. Has assisted students in gaining over $4,500,000 in scholarships and grants for post-secondary education through online platform. Impacted the lives of over 45,000 low-income students nationwide via technology-enabled knowledge for funding higher education.

Aside from building his own businesses, through his impact driven website design firm, DQ and Partners, Derrius has developed the brand strategy and web presence for four impact-driven startups as well as numerous intellectuals and creatives of color including activists, musicians, authors, and professors. In partnering with these companies and dynamic individuals, Derrius ensures that those who are doing needed work in the world on a constrained budget can launch with an aesthetic that attracts both relationships and revenue.

A driving force behind Derrius’ inspiration is a humbling message he received from Harry Belafonte while being honored alongside him at The Common Ground Foundation Gala hosted by musician and actor Common in 2012. Mr. Belafonte said to the audience that, “Derrius is the dream Dr. King and I as well as so many others fought for...”. Derrius now carries the torch that will touch many lives along his journey.

He is currently a Resident at TED where he is preparing a TED Talk to address how the overwhelming strategy of financial literacy to improve economic outcomes for Black people is rooted in racist thinking and why the dialogue needs to move to one of financial wellness fused with social justice.