Not every student excels in all areas of study. One student may love math but have a terrible record in literature. For students struggling with certain subjects it can be hard to find reliable help. Richard Werbe, CEO of Studypool, helping students find the answers they need and understand the material better is what his business is all about. We spoke to Richard about his business, the future, and his advice for aspiring entrepreneurs.
Why did you start your business?
Really, the inception of the idea for studypool came to me while I was in high school, my classmates would get stuck on questions in subjects like Algebra or Physics. I was that “nerdy kid”… haha, so I would get chased around by eager students looking for quick help and explanations to their questions, I thought why isn't there a resource for all these students with this problem
Tell us about your products and services?
Studypool.com is a Q and A marketplace where students with specific questions can connect with tutors that have those answers. Our tutors have the ability to work from home in their PJs and help students with their challenging questions while getting paid! As a student all you do is post a question and wait for it to get answered in less than 8 minutes on average. Our four most asked topics are Math, Business/Finance, Writing, and Programming. If you have a tutor you like to use you can also do private questions with them as well.
Can you tell us about your industry and what your business is doing differently?
Edtech space is changing every day. The current trend that you see is companies having a bunch of online courses which is great but what if you just need to get a physics question answered quickly and you don’t want to sit through a lecture. That’s where studypool.com comes in. We solely focus on helping students with specific questions by solving them quickly. We are innovating the Q and A space by increasing the efficiency at which questions are answered. On average our questions get answered 50 minutes faster than our closest competitor.
Where do you see the business in the next 5 years?
Right now it is hard to tell. We are excited to see the growth of our platform and when that hits its cap we will expand into wherever the market is at that point.
What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs and business owners?
I think a lot of entrepreneurs get scared to get their feet wet and just hustle. Get up off your seat and get started. Sure you may get rejected by some people but that is part of the process. Get back up and keep pushing towards your goal. The ones who succeed are the ones who work the hardest and hustle the hardest.
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