MyTuition Turns $1000 into 10,000 Lessons   23 Aug 2016

MyTuition Turns $1000 into 10,000 Lessons

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 23rd of August 2016

Auckland startup MyTuition has reached an impressive milestone of having facilitated 10,000 lessons for high school students.

The company was founded two and a half years ago by then 23-year-olds Jimmy Li and Roy Lin with $1,000 capital and a key vision that hasn’t wavered over the years: to equip high school students with the knowledge the co-founders wish they’d had in school.

MyTuition connects high school students looking for a helping hand in their studies to more than 200 tutors in Auckland, all of whom are current university students or recent graduates.

“We all wish we could go back in time and tell our high school self a few words of wisdom to help breeze through teenage years,” says MyTuition co-founder Jimmy Li.

“MyTuition is the next best thing. We connect high school students to mentors who’ve recently been through it all themselves, remember exactly what their students are going through, and have learned how to ace their subjects.”

The startup puts its 225 tutors through a rigorous screening process to ensure only the top-achieving and most personable university students and recent graduates are chosen to mentor in their specialist areas of study.

All mentors need to have obtained a minimum A grade or “Excellence” in any subject they teach, and can adapt their teaching hours - which are done at the high school students’ homes - around their own studies.

Mentors receive continuous training to ensure they’re always on top of their game.

It’s a formula that appears to be working for Li and Lin. In 30 months, MyTuition has become one of the largest home tutoring agencies in Auckland and employs four full-time staff.

The startup is on track to double its 6-figure revenue this year from last year.

“Not bad for a business that was built only $1,000 upfront capital,” says Lin.

“And, of course, a hell of a lot of hard work.”

“Jimmy and I see that growth as proof that people are buying into our mission to help every student in New Zealand through their greatest challenges by connecting them with the right people and advice.”

“MyTuition has helped me nail my subjects,” says Limal Thrikawalgoda: a Year 12 student at Auckland’s Macleans College.

“I was mainly struggling with maths and physics but my tutors taught me the theory behind these subjects which helped me understand everything much better and lift my grades from around 40% to the 80% mark.

“Because my tutors are only a few years older than me, they are able to relate to my mistakes, stress, and school life. That makes it far easier to understand them.”

Li says MyTuition is part of a sweeping change in education in which teaching is increasingly tailored to the individual needs of each student.

“We’ve known for years now that the one size fits all approach doesn’t work,” he says.

“For students to get the most out of school, they need someone to support their unique strengths and help them overcome their knowledge gaps. Nothing can do this like one-to-one or small group tuition.”

Both Li and Lin believe that tutoring needs to be accessible to all. MyTuition is around 25-50% cheaper than its competitors with hourly tuition rates starting at just $28 an hour.

ENDS

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