Today we’d like to introduce you to Arvind Venkataraman.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Arvind. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My co-founder Shameel Thawerbhoy and I first started Apollo Tutors back in February 2013- I was a freshman at SMU, and he was a senior, and initially all we had was $250 each to print business cards, file the business, and print flyers.
We initially only worked with students at SMU, and in the Highland Park area and grew from there to serving students pre-k through college around Texas, and at various universities across the nation.
A lot of the early growth we had was due to word of mouth, and from keeping up with the hustle. Before we had built our app, we handled all tutoring requests manually and in some cases, would even drop off our tutors and pick them up from their sessions to make sure everything went smoothly.
The hands-on, personalized service was what also helped us stand out because we made sure that students and tutors were the perfect fit, and it was something that was more personal than going to a tutoring center or booking something from a tutoring website where you could get a tutor who was really personable, or could be really boring.
Sometimes students have specific needs or working with a younger tutor is a better experience, so we decided to build our service around what students and parents wanted and to make the experience as easy to book, and easy to use as possible.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
We have had various struggles along the way. Initially, our problem was finding tutors, and having a system to keep track of everything because we couldn’t afford to build an app or a website.
To find tutors we would start out with friends, or friends of friends, and to different student organizations around our campus. One student, we were working with wanted to learn Spanish, but from the dialect from Spain, so we made sure to hire a tutor who could fit those criteria.
We also went through some hurdles with our technology. Initially, we planned on building a huge, robust application that had a million features and would be an e-learning experience, but this was very expensive, and time-consuming, so we slowly decided to build something leaner, that would get the job done.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Apollo Tutors – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Apollo Tutors is an emerging social enterprise offering tutoring for K-12 classes, SAT/ACT College Prep, and Undergraduate courses.
Our mission is to promote optimal learning for school, the workplace, and beyond.
Our tutors are scholars from diverse backgrounds who have shown mastery in their fields of study, and have a passion for mentoring students.
We work with each student to identify areas of focus and set goals to progress your knowledge.
We strive to find the right fit for tutor who is proficient in the subject area and share similar learning styles with their students. Unlike the standard approach for tutoring, we use research-based analytics to offer a custom-tailored approach to tutoring, unlike other services which do not have hands-on, and often after you book a tutor you will never hear from the company again.
We pride ourselves in selecting premier tutors who stand out among their peers. Our tutors are proven scholars from diverse academic backgrounds ranging from undergraduate students, graduate students, aspiring teachers, and working professionals looking for ways to engage younger peers.
Our tutors demonstrate academic excellence on all levels due to our selective recruitment process. We look for candidates with not only strong GPAs and standardized test scores but also strong communication skills and an ability to build rapport. We look for tutors who can serve as mentors to students to promote lifelong learning.
We emphasize the right fit of tutor by ensuring high academic caliber, personable service, and by matching students with tutors who share similar learning styles.
Our tutors serve as mentors and advisers to kindle academic curiosity and promote lifelong learning.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
We plan to grow our service to serve more students in more locations. This year we are making our foray outside of Texas, and will be working with college students at the University of Oklahoma, University of Arizona, and other campuses.
We are looking forward to growing and serving a larger geographical area, and to also expand our presence for K-12th Grade Tutoring around Texas as well.
Our goal is to be the premier in-home and college tutoring company in the country, and from there to expand to other countries as well.
Pricing:
- K-12th Grade Tutoring- $65/hr
- SAT/ACT Prep – $75/hr
- College Tutoring: $35-$55/hr
Contact Info:
- Address:1304 W. Walnut Hill ln
Ste 240 - Website: www.apollotutors.org
- Phone: 888-406-3988
- Email: info@apollotutors.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/apollotutors/
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/apollotutors
- Twitter: apollo_tutors
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
