Great Companies: How did you get your idea or concept for the business?
Tanuj Shah: Like many, I personally faced challenges while searching for the right teacher for my hobby. The idea began building when I observed a similar kind of restraint even other hobby learners faced locally and even on a global level. Many faced difficulties including loss of time because of travel, lack of attention from the instructor due to group tutoring, not the right match for the learner, and so on. While brainstorming casually on what could be the solution, I realised that technology could be used here to solve the issue of time and distance and on top of it getting individual, 1-on-1 attention from a tutor - fits perfectly well and solves the challenge to a great extent. I knew that this was the right way ahead to pick up anything, especially a hobby. Receiving that attention, while passionately learning, at the comfort of one’s home or chosen surrounding - is what we ideated.
Anuj Shah: Personally, I didn't find teachers locally who were exclusively invested in their student's growth and that's when that initial thought seeded in. I wasn't able to find the right teacher in a jiffy - there was a huge gap. There was an immediate need to procure veterans who were not only seasoned professionals but also excellent educators. This led to the gradual ideation of ipassio with Tanuj - harmless discussions on why there was no source of something like this grew into an e-learning platform for hobbies that champion the concept of online live 1-on-1 learning.
Great Companies: What are the various services provided by ipassio?
Anuj Shah: Every aspect that teachers need to provide high-quality training to students is already taken care of, on ipassio. This includes student enrolment, course structure, class strength, fee collection, fee disbursal and several others. This apart, we help teachers in building their course content and material, we run marketing efforts to drive high quality students to their courses and also pre-screen students to assess their genuine interest. Further, sustained guidance from our teachers after classes, ensures that the enrolled students are not consumed by their questions. Regular assessment and feedback by the teacher guarantee that every effort of the student is accounted for.
Tanuj Shah: We are building towards being a technologically advanced and credible platform for e-learning. ipassio is a user-friendly, live learning platform for hobbies. It is one that fills the gap that exists for students in finding experienced, knowledgeable teachers. The platform enables acclaimed, veteran teachers with proficient technology support for courses and student management. This ensures a smooth user experience for both students and teachers. Students have a lot of advantages as they learn what they want, from the best in the field. They are at liberty to choose from a wide selection of distinctly-designed courses. The maximum strength of a class is limited to a minimal number. This safeguards them from being attention deficit. This means that each student gets individual attention from the teacher at all times.
Great Companies: What makes ipassio different from hundreds of other hobby Classes?
Tanuj Shah:
ipassio is an e-learning platform, yes - but it is exclusively for hobbies. It champions that inspiration, that flame that a learner carries within, to pursue what they love. We differ from others as we drive towards that passion.
The term ‘ipassio’ is keyed by Anuj and me - as the letter ‘i’ in the brand name signifies learners discovering their abilities whereas the latter bit of the name - ‘passio’ - is the Latin term for ‘passion’ - something that everyone associated with the platform is - from our team to the registered teachers and enrolled learners.
Anuj Shah: Our hashtag #Pickitupagain suggests how any individual could go back out there and pick that hobby or activity that they left behind in the process of things. That individual could be from any age group, background, or country - it doesn’t matter!
Our diversity in terms of hobbies and interests is probably what makes us stand apart from our competitors. We also helped in bridging the gap between experienced, seasoned teachers and avid learners.
Great Companies: What are the struggles and challenges you face?
Anuj Shah: Initially, we had some challenges in convincing highly acclaimed and skillful teachers to join our platform. This was because the platform was new and it was the first online, live 1-on-1 teaching platform for hobbies in India.
Tanuj Shah: Hiring experienced and seasoned professionals to work with us at the start was another hurdle that we faced. As beginners, it was tough to get people on board without a tag. We did work with some talented freelancers, but that never worked out for the long-term as our company was not their sole priority. Eventually, we did find good employees who trusted the product and hopped in on this journey - and they're still with us today, witnessing the growth of our platform, firsthand.
Great Companies: How do you plan to grow in the future? What do 5 years down the line look like for ipassio?
Tanuj Shah: We plan to expand globally as an e-learning website, to be known worldwide as the go-to platform for hobbies. This has been our ongoing, long-term aim from the start and we are working towards securing that goal as fast as possible.
Anuj Shah: Apart from being a globally known source for pursuing hobbies, we are also working towards securing some of the best teachers across genres, from all over the world. This is with the aim, that learners are assured of the quality of knowledge they receive at ipassio. Their source of learning will always be the best and will remain exclusive to them only.
Great Companies: If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting, what would it be?
Tanuj Shah: There are three key points needed to make sure you’re on the right path as an entrepreneur in the beginning. These are, scalability of your business, technology performance i.e. how well is your system architected and optimised to ensure great performance, and lastly, user experience i.e. always design the experience keeping your users’ needs and requirements in mind. If these three pointers are in place from the start of the venture, it'll head in the right direction.
Anuj Shah: Stay determined while starting because as an entrepreneur, one has to be prepared for all the hypothetical challenges with real solutions. Always remember that the consumer’s win is our win, so it’s important to ensure a good customer experience from the start. In the meantime, a constant interaction with your users will help you learn a lot about them and what challenges they face in using your platform. This leads to creating a useful set of features that serve them the best, in the best ways.
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