EasyEducation

 

How would you describe your startup?

We offer tutoring in collaboration with schools. University of Siegen student teachers work with us and provide tutoring in the afternoon at one of our eight partner schools.

What makes your tutoring service unique?

Students learn in small groups, with sessions lasting 60-90 minutes each. Since the tutoring takes place directly in the school building, there's better interaction with the teacher. We tailor our tutoring to the current curriculum. Additionally, for primary schools, we use student teachers who are trained to teach at this level to provide the right pedagogical support. This allows us to address students' individual learning needs.

How did you come up with the idea to start this business?

First, there was an interest in entrepreneurship. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the growing importance of tutoring as many students needed to catch up on their studies. In this context, various support programs were initiated by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. We chose the education sector because it doesn't require significant capital, reducing the risk of starting a business. We've invested a lot of time, but not much money.

Is it worth starting a business at a young age?

Our age was never a problem. Particularly since we've become actively involved in tutoring at schools, we've gained credibility. Young people shouldn't be afraid to start a business. If someone approaches us with ideas or challenges, we're happy to listen and provide our own tips. For example, one might think that registering a business is quite challenging initially. It may seem like you have to fill out a hundred complicated forms, but in the end, it's not that complicated with the right support. The startup incubator also provides spaces for networking and sharing ideas.

What other forms of support have you received?

Since our capital requirements were very low, we didn't face financial issues. However, we received the NRW Founder Scholarship and were able to utilize various other offers through Startpunkt57. For example, the facilities we use here are very valuable to us. Our coach, Karin, from the startup incubator, provides us with valuable input. Through her, we've also made many valuable connections.

What was a significant challenge you faced in the past, and how did you overcome it?

The biggest challenge was gaining the first school for our tutoring services. We knew that schools are well-connected with each other, so it was essential to overcome this initial hurdle. To our surprise, this was not as difficult as we expected, and a school agreed to work with us quickly. During this time, it was crucial for us to be flexible. The schools could dictate when the tutoring sessions should take place, and we did everything to accommodate their schedules. We couldn't make significant demands; instead, we had to create an attractive offer.

What is it like to start a business as a team?

Starting a business as a team is a significant advantage. In our case, we knew each other before we started the business. Different areas of expertise could be brought into the team due to our diverse academic backgrounds. Working in a team is also less time-consuming because tasks can be divided. On a personal level, it's easier to support each other in a team; starting a business is often characterized by setbacks. In those times, it helps not to be alone. However, very large startup teams can also have challenges because many different viewpoints come into play.

What specific goals are you currently working on?

In the short term, we're working on getting everything up and running again. We don't offer tutoring during school holidays since we are tied to the school premises. With the start of the new school year, many things need to be restarted. In the medium term, we plan to expand beyond primary schools, making our tutoring available to other types of schools. In the long term, we hope to expand our services to areas outside of Siegen.

This portrait is based on an interview with EasyEducation and was written by Antonia Blumberg.

 

Here to the homepage of the start-up