Show HN: Corgi – on-demand, 1-on-1 tutoring

[scarya]

Hey all — I’m Sameer, a software engineer and longtime math/CS tutor who’s just launched an on-demand tutoring platform called Corgi. The product is a mobile app (currently iOS only) that allows users to request and receive tutoring help whenever they want it, for as little or as long as they need.

Here’s how it works:

1. User selects a subject, adds a brief summary of what they need help with, and submits their request

2. All tutors who are online and qualified in that subject receive a notification that someone needs help

3. The first tutor to accept the request gets matched with the user, and both parties are placed in a in-app video chat session

4. The user works with the tutor for as long as they need

5. When the session is complete, the user is charged for the time they used (currently billed at $1/minute, rounded to the nearest minute) and the tutor receives 80% of the student fee

As a starting point, the only subject we’re offering is SAT math help, but we plan to expand to other subjects in the near future.

I built Corgi because 1) tutoring is a lifelong passion of mine, and 2) I haven’t found a quality, on-demand tutoring service that currently exists, but I believe it’s something that could really help students. The idea here isn’t to try and replace the traditional tutoring model (i.e. working with the same tutor on a consistent basis over a long period of time) but to supplement existing resources with an office hours-like service that can provide immediate help (e.g. at the exact moment when someone is struggling with homework, or is studying for an imminent exam).

Eventually, I’d like to offer this platform directly to schools or districts, so that students can use it irrespective of ability to pay. There is at least one major player in this space doing something similar (https://paper.co) but from my own research they seem to have a lot of issues (e.g. students getting matched with tutors who aren’t qualified in their subjects, tutors working with many students simultaneously despite the company claiming the tutoring is all 1-on-1) and districts who previously signed contracts with them don’t seem keen on continuing their relationships (https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/9/6/23861330/online-tutoring-...).

I’ve also been a tutor on some of the existing traditional tutoring platforms (e.g. Wyzant) and have found the experience frustrating (mainly due to unfairly low compensation combined with a struggle to match with students). My goal with Corgi is to build something that provides real value and a positive experience for both the tutors and students who use it.

I’ve spent the last week or so recruiting an initial batch of tutors, and am now kicking off the process of finding students to help test it out. I’m also building out some additional features to help make the actual tutoring sessions feel a little smoother (e.g. browser-based sessions to allow usage from any device, virtual whiteboards for easier collaboration). I’d appreciate any and all feedback the HN community has to share, positive or negative!

[anoy8888]

Per minute is a terrible pricing strategy. It invokes nervousness just by hearing about it. The founders are probably newbies in business. Your minimum pricing unit should be 30 min or more. Or perhaps it should be a monthly subscription model of various pricing layers (limited by number of sessions per month for example )

[scarya]

Thanks for the feedback! To be fair, there's at least some precedent for per-minute pricing: TutorMe (https://tutorme.com) used to offer on-demand tutoring at the same $1/minute rate (in addition to a subscription option similar to the one you're describing) and appeared to have some success with that model. That being said, I agree that offering multiple options probably makes the most sense.

[catlover76]

I also used to tutor on Wyzant.

I think you should let those of us who can/want to tutor something other than math sign up from now--otherwise how will you know you can even start offering something else?

And how will I find this again in the future when you finally want to start supporting my vertical?

[scarya]

Given that we're just starting out and I can't really make any promises about what subjects we'll eventually support beyond the initial math ones, I'd prefer to wait on accepting those applications. As for how you'll find us again -- hopefully by the time we get around to supporting more subjects, Corgi will be a household name, so we'll already be top of mind for you :)

[throw9away6]

The pricing model needs work. You probably want to be selling minutes in blocks and offer volume discounts. 60$ an hour is kind of high for online tutoring as well esp if quality of tutors is quite variable

[scarya]

Thanks for the comment! I definitely expect the pricing model to change over time as we get feedback, but I was curious to see how users responded to the per minute model to start with. Selling in blocks has tradeoffs as well (e.g. if I sell in 15 minute chunks, but the user only needs a couple of extra minutes after 14:30, I don't want to charge for another 15) but I'm very open to doing it if that's what users prefer.

Re: the $60/hour rate: given that online tutoring prices can vary pretty widely (anywhere from $10/hour to $200+/hr), I actually think it's fairly reasonable for a high-quality product. My hope is that the quality of tutors won't feel too variable in practice even if students end up working with different tutors for every session -- it's very important to me that we keep a high bar for all tutors on the platform, so a lot of work goes into the vetting process.

[catlover76]

The pricing is doable for a number of subjects.

I used to tutor LSAT; 60 USD per hour was highish, but not that crazy in 2017/2018.