Solving the Student Loan Crisis with Amira Yahyaoui, Founder & CEO of Mos
The Most Important Thing
If you or your loved one is applying to college or graduate school and planning to take on student loans to do it, consider using Mos.com instead. They’ll connect you to other, cheaper, more aligned sources of financing.
About Amira Yahyaoui
Amira Yahyaoui is an activist and entrepreneur who has spent her life advocating for human rights, democracy, and dignity. She started her activism at 17 and has since became recognized as one of the faces of the Arab Spring, as well as the founder of Al Bawsala, a multi-award winning NGO in Tunisia that fights for government transparency and accountability.
In 2018, she traveled halfway around the world to San Francisco and founded Mos, a start-up focused on tearing down all financial barriers to opportunity.
Amira has been awarded the Conflict Prevention Prize by Fondation Chirac, the Global Leadership Award from Vital Voices, and was named a Global Young Leader by the World Economic Forum.
About Mos
Mos is a technology company in San Francisco whose mission is to tear down all financial barriers to opportunity. They’re getting started by helping students pay for college without taking on crushing amounts of debt.
With Mos, students can apply to all $135B of government aid in just 20 minutes. Students are also paired with an expert aid advisor to help them through the entire process.
In the past year, Mos has helped students qualify for 200M in government funding.
Episode Overview:
In this episode, I sat down with Amira Yahyaoui, the founder and CEO of Mos – a company solving the student loan crisis in America. We discuss the scope and nature of the crisis, the fate of universities in a post COVID19 world, immigrant founders in Silicon Valley, DACA, Black Students Matter, and her transition from NGOs to for-profit enterprise.
My Favorite Quotes:
“Democracies are also dysfunctional. In their own way, they can fail to treat people with dignity, equity, and give them rights.”
“99% of the universities and often the best choices in most countries are free. They are mostly public institutions.”
“The problem is not that education in the US costs money, the problem is HOW students are asked to pay for it.”
“We are the only place in this country to have a list of EVERY SINGLE SCHOLARSHIP in the government right now”
“This is the problem: money is there, but access is not there”
“Students – do not go to Sallie Mae”
“The solution is not students against colleges – it’s for existing students to become advocates and agents of change to make colleges more affordable for future students.”
“Some colleges will die, some will shut down, and this is a sad thing because colleges create a lot of jobs.”
“Silicon Valley is one of the most incredible places in the world. When you are an immigrant like me, with an accent like me, who comes with a crazy idea – there are people who will still fund and support you.”
Episode Breakdown:
00:00 – Defining the student debt crisis
07:00 – Tunisian Exceptionalism in the Arab Spring
10:30 – US higher education vs. other nations
17:00 –Financial Aid in the US
23:00 – How Mos works
28:00 – DACA Students
30:00 – What about the $1.5T of outstanding student debt?
35:00 – Are universities to blame for the student loan crisis?
40:00 – What about Sallie Mae?
45:00 – COVID19 and universities
51:00 – Silicon Valley: the good and the bad
56:00 – Delete Facebook
1:00:00 – Black Students Matter
1:03:00 – What problem will Amira tackle next?
Episode Links:
Amira’s Info
About Mos
Other Resources & References
Why Tunisia’s Democratic Transition Succeeded
What Will it Take to Solve the Student Loan Crisis?
DACA Students Supreme Court Trial
Sallie Mae: The Heart of the Crisis
Scott Galloway on University Issues
Maria Ressa: Activist Arrested in the Philippines
Marc’s Info:
Marc Weinstein, host of the Look Up! Podcast is a public speaker for corporations, universities, and conferences. Click here to view past talks and to book Marc
