Tutorie is a student-to-student tutoring platform aiming to change the way tutoring works at IE University. The platform aims to change the way tutoring works at the university. When interviewed, two of the founders explained: “We got the idea for Tutorie from a real need we saw around us.” Tutorie connects students who have mastered their classes with those who need help by making tutoring easy to find, cheap, and personalized.
The Inspiration Behind Tutorie
The founders who started Tutorie made their platform because they saw a need for improvement in the tutoring process at IE. They noticed difficulties with how well tutors and tutees were matched and with the way individuals communicate with each other to find a tutor at the university. Traditional student-to-student tutoring was mostly unstructured and ineffective, and it relied on word of mouth and personal connections. This method made it much harder for tutor-tutee relationships to form at the university level.
In the interview, the creators of an app mentioned that: “Students do want to do better in university, and they also want to find ways to make money. Of course, this process was always informal and inefficient before Tutorie. Usually, it was done through word of mouth, friends of friends, and other types of social communications like, for instance, WhatsApp.”
Tutorie was created to make this process more organized and centralized. On of the founders went on to say, “Imagine a system where every student can be both a teacher and a learner, creating a cycle of academic success and empowerment!” This idea is what Tutorie is built on, and it wants to change the way tutoring works at universities.
What Makes Tutorie Stand Out?
By using the unique insights and experiences of students, Tutorie sets itself apart from other online tutoring services. Tutorie is different from other platforms because it lets students who have recently done well in a class become tutors for that subject.
This new way of addressing the specific need fills a very important gap in helping with more university-focused classes or subjects. “There are existing tutoring platforms on the market already. They consist of professional tutors offering their services through online platforms. The first limitation arises here: these professional tutors may be very well versed in their subject matters, say, in Economics or Biology, but students need help in more particular or university-specific classes or topics.” founders said.
For instance, a student may require assistance with the Global Economic Environment course at IE University, taught by a particular professor, rather than with Economics in general. These platforms are also employing tutors on a full-time basis. In addition to previous teaching preparation, they must hold degrees or certificates in the subjects they teach. This excludes a large number of students from using these platforms as tutors. With Tutorie, students can earn money doing something they are even more skilled at than a professional tutor: tutoring students in subjects in which they have already demonstrated outstanding results.
Here is what the platform looks like for its users:
What Challenges Did They Face?
There were challenging moments from the beginning of the idea to start Tutorie. Building trust with students and letting them know that the app is backed and supported by IE was one of the biggest difficulties. The creators said, “Acknowledgment among students that the app is valid and supported by IE was one of the main issues.” To solve this problem, the team came up with marketing plans that were specially tailored for IE students and made sure the message got out about the app and its benefits.
In the first week of its launch, Tutorie attracted over 100 users, including both tutors and tutees. Tutorie has added Stripe services to protect the financial transactions carried out on the platform. Tutors have access to integrated Stripe services. So they may have the money paid out to a Stripe account, and when tutors want to get the money in their bank account, they can withdraw it from the Stripe account, while Tutorie will cover the commission. In fact, during the interview the founders explained that “the only thing you can lose is an opportunity to make money or improve your grades.”
What are the Platform’s Plans for the Future of Tutoring?
Tutorie is about influencing the direction of tutoring going forward in addition to meeting present demands. Through ongoing platform improvement based on user input, the team intends to transform teaching at IE and establish a new local and later global benchmark. Working on group tutoring as well, the platform will allow tutors to select their teaching strategies according to their backgrounds. Tutors have complete freedom, so group tutoring is going to be a feature that only they can choose based on their past experiences.
To conclude, Tutorie is more than just a tool for tutoring. It’s a community-based solution that changes students’ academic lives and encourages learning success and empowerment. The platform seeks to change the way tutoring is done at IE and maybe have a bigger effect by putting the user experience first, focusing on educational value, and encouraging community involvement.
