The “Mom, send beer money” sign and its many variations is a familiar sight to college football fans. However, it was always met with a chuckle before today. The hopeful sign holder’s desperation play, although humorous, never really had a shot at working. Mom and dad are usually not keen on funding their college student’s drunken debauchery.

That all changed on this morning’s College Gameday on ESPN.

Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, one budding entrepreneur saw an opportunity in this sign that his predecessors had overlooked. The plea might be directed at mom and/or dad, but it is the kindness of strangers one should really be aiming for.

Before, the challenge had always been directing those generous strangers to the right wallet. Now, thanks to the Venmo app, which allows users to instantly send money to one another simply by knowing another’s username, it has never been easier to collect money from random strangers all over the country.

Budding businessman Sam Crowder, AKA “SamC227C,” cashed in big time when his sign asking his mom for beer money made it on ESPN this morning. Crowder wisely included his Venmo username, and soon the donations started pouring in from complete strangers all over the country.

Venmo does not show the amounts paid to anyone but those involved in the transaction, but it is safe to say Crowder’s personal slush fund has grown substantially since he got out of bed this morning.

Capitalism at its finest, folks.

About Ben Sieck

Ben is a recent graduate of Butler University where he served as Managing Editor and Co-Editor-in-Chief for the Butler Collegian. He currently resides in Indianapolis.