Today we’d like to introduce you to Nikhil Narvekar, Sreeman Tummala and Ashank Annam.
So, before we jump into specific questions about your organization, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
YoungBytes was created back in May 2019. In May, one of my (Nikhil) family friends had been looking to teach their 7th-grade son how to program in Java. Knowing that I was experienced in the area, they contacted me in hopes I could send some resources for their son to use. I quickly compiled a list of websites and books he could use, but their son quickly got lost and was unable to learn to code. I decided to take some time out and have classes with him at the library, guiding him through creating his very first Java program. I saw his eyes light up as he connected the dots and figured out how coding worked.
I realized that despite the myriad of STEM-related resources online, it’s hard for parents and students to effectively learn from them. STEM’s quite a broad category, and the amount of fields and interests a student has to choose from can be overwhelming. This inspired me to get with Sreeman and create YoungBytes.
Our mission was simple: teach students programming through hands-on, personal courses. We hosted free classes at public libraries, teaching those interested in Java, Python, and even robotics. We grew a modest base of students and parents over the course of the summer. Our summer classes ended in August and we planned to start them again in Summer 2020.
However, in March, the pandemic struck. Thousands of students were left tutor-less due to quarantine. We decided to switch to an online system of K-12 tutoring to keep students engaged and learning during these tough times. We tutored in various STEM subjects, everything from AP Physics to 6th-grade math. We wanted to make our classes affordable for all, so we priced them at only $10 for a 1-hour long weekly session. All of the money went towards WHO’s global COVID-19 fund. To help keep track of finances, we brought Ashank in as our business head.
We quickly grew to 30 concurrent students by the end of June. We had around ten tutors maintaining the classes, volunteering their time to help make a difference. Our parents and students loved the classes, happy that their education was still going on during quarantine. More than that, however, our tutors were able to personally connect with their students. Our tutors, composed of high school and college students, acted as mentors and friends for their students.
Around August, we realized that COVID-19 wasn’t going away anytime soon. With increasing demand, we decided to expand our organization. We hired more staff, pursued formal 501(c)(3) nonprofit status, and created new services. We even dropped our weekly prices to $5 to become more accessible to all students. Currently, we are still in this expansion phase. Our tutoring is ongoing, and we are working on a website where students can showcase their personally-created STEM projects to others (including company recruiters and college professors).
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?
When we started online classes in May 2020, there were several issues we encountered. Many parents and students, unaccustomed to online schooling, had difficulty figuring out how video calls worked. In response, we made several guides for our parents/students on how to use our video-calling software (we used Google Hangouts for classes). Besides that, we initially had staffing troubles. Parents signed up fast, but we didn’t have enough tutors for all the incoming students. Our staff at the time (leads included) tutored multiple students a day to keep up with all of our signups. After a while, we started to gain more tutors and the load on each tutor became much more manageable. These issues still pop up once in a while now, but we are much better equipped to handle them.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the YoungBytes story. Tell us more about your organization.
YoungBytes is known for interesting and engaging students in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). We provide K-12 tutoring services, let students showcase their STEM-related projects, give STEM resources, and even provide fun competitions for students to participate in. When a student joins YoungBytes, they aren’t just learning how to do their school homework. They are discovering new fields and interests as well. At the same time, we are one of the only STEM nonprofits that use our services to raise money for donation.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
When we started online classes, we weren’t sure if people would sign up. We were fortunate enough to have previous students from our in-person classes join, eager to keep learning STEM. Our good luck has also helped us find staff from all around the United States, all dedicated to our organization’s mission. We have had bad luck in terms of technical/structural issues, such as staff having to leave unexpectedly, but we have managed to stick through tough situations and improve ourselves.
Pricing:
- Our K-12 tutoring is $5 weekly for a 1-hour long session. Parents/students can have tutoring as long as they need it and can cancel at any time (for no extra cost).
- Our competitions, project showcase, and STEM resources are completely free for everyone!
- Our college counseling sessions (where we pair a student with a college student who can help them with the application process) are $30 for a 2-hour long session.
Contact Info:
- Website: youngbytes.org
- Phone: 682-235-9149
- Email: youngbytescontact@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/youngbytes/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/youngbytesinfo
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/company/young-bytes
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