When former technology marketing professional Anu Bhave began searching for tutors for her 8-year-old daughter, Pallavi, she was displeased with the results.
In-home tutors ranged in price from $60 to $100 per hour, and the cheaper classroom and online tutoring options lacked the personal touch Bhave sought.
“I began talking to friends and found that I was not the only person who was struggling,” Bhave said.
She decided to translate her frustrations into action. Seven months ago, the New Delhi native founded TutorNext, which matches students with individual tutors online in India, ready to answer their questions. TutorNext uses an electronic classroom. A tutor overseas has a “white board,” where he or she writes down instructions for a student, as if using a chalkboard. Both teacher and student use headsets to communicate when going over problems.
Tutors always work with the same student so they can develop a relationship with each other, Bhave said. TutorNext initially provided only math instruction but and has now introduced English and information technology tutoring. It plans to branch out further into the sciences and other subjects soon, Bhave said, serving young children, high school students and college-level clients. As of today, the company tutors 100 students, 20 in the D.C. area. Bhave’s company employs 12 full-time professional teachers, which she recruited from well-respected schools in India. The business is growing due to word of mouth and Web-based advertising, Bhave said. She hopes to tutor 1,000 students by this time next year. She’s found that as a mother, she can relate well to frustrated parents who have had problems finding adequate tutors and provide online tutoring skeptics reassurance that her program gives an individualized touch.
Though Bhave’s former professional life doing marketing for companies like software maker Oracle and Genpact — General Electric’s Indian outsourcing unit — brought her satisfaction, her work at TutorNext has proven much more rewarding.
“There’s no comparison,” she said. “I can directly see the impact I’m having on these students.”
BUSINESS
Current job: President, tutorNEXT
Last job: Director, Corporate Executive Board
Number of e-mails a day: 50
Number of voice mails a day: 10
Essential Web site: http://www.tutornext.com
Best perk: Great feedback from happy parents!
Gadgets: Logitech Quickcam Communicate (for calls with my team in India)
Education/credentials: MBA, MIT Sloan School of Management
Last conference: TiE Women’s Event
First job: IT Consultant, Tata Unisys
Original aspiration: Make a difference in the lives of as many students as possible by providing high-quality, cost-effective, personal in-home tutoring
Career objective: Become a well-known educationist with lots of successful students
PERSONAL
Date of Birth: Sept. 1, 1971
Hometown: New Delhi, India
Sports/hobbies: Swimming, reading, Bollywood movies
Transportation: 2004 Toyota Camry
Favorite restaurant: P.F. Chang’s
Computer: IBM Thinkpad
Favorite clothier: Macy’s
Vacation spot: Koh Samui, Thailand
Role model: Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz
Quote: “Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night.” – Edgar Allan Poe
Reading: “Blue Ocean Strategy”
Worst fear: Being stranded alone on an island!
