Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • 2012
  • Case

Robert Whelan and the Student Loan Crisis (A)

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Olivia Leskinen
  • Language:English
ShareBar

Abstract

Robert Whelan and the Student Loan Crisis (A) 2009 AL Fellow Bob Whelan developed an idea with partners that was a seed before his fellowship year and seemed to address a significant national challenge - college financing - with a creative concept and experience from his years in venture capital. His nonprofit was called 13th Avenue Funding and it provided equity as an alternative to debt for students to finance college. Since he first set out on his journey, he faced a lot of resistance and difficulty in scaling his non-profit aimed at enabling one million low income students to obtain a postsecondary education debt free. Whelan continued to persist and adapt to the changing environment.

Keywords

Innovation; Entrepreneurs; Leadership Skills; Student Loan Crisis; Student Loans; Students; Low-income; Postsecondary Education; Debt-free; Income-share Agreements; ISA; College; Master’s Degree; Google; Purdue Research Foundation; Kanter’s Law; Elida Gonzalez; 13th Avenue; Ed Lowry; Flexibility; National Student Debt Jubilee Project; Fundraising; Difficult Middles; Investing In Student Success Act Of 2014; State Engagement; State Level; Pay It Forward; Student Movement; Tuition; Financing College; Change Management; Entrepreneurship; Innovation and Invention; Leadership; Education; Higher Education; Financing and Loans; Social Enterprise

Citation

Kanter, Rosabeth M., and Olivia Leskinen. "Robert Whelan and the Student Loan Crisis (A)." Harvard Business School Case 313-009, 2012. (Advanced Leadership Initiative.)
  • Purchase

About The Author

Rosabeth M. Kanter

General Management
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • 21 Feb 2023
    • Faculty Research

    How Miami Can Become a Global Climate Solutions Hub

    By: Rosabeth M. Kanter
    • February 2023
    • Faculty Research

    Colette Phillips and GetKonnected: Creating Inclusive Ecosystems

    By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Ai-Ling Jamila Malone
    • February 10, 2023
    • Wall Street Journal (online)

    The Case for Having a Boring CEO

    By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter
More from the Authors
  • How Miami Can Become a Global Climate Solutions Hub By: Rosabeth M. Kanter
  • Colette Phillips and GetKonnected: Creating Inclusive Ecosystems By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Ai-Ling Jamila Malone
  • The Case for Having a Boring CEO By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College