Brisbane tutors: Pocketnote takes learning online for Queensland students
Finding a tutor for your child has never been easier thanks to a fast-growing home tutoring start-up by a young Brisbane entrepreneur. Described as an “Uber for tutors”, hundreds have signed up to the platform ready to learn from home.
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Business is booming for young entrepreneur Ben Russell, 24, whose home tutoring start-up, Pocketnote, has amassed over 100 tutors for its nearly 100 students since its January launch.
And with news recently breaking that Queensland students would be learning from home in Term 2, the young gun from St Lucia is making sure his team of tutors is ready to support more Queensland families.
Described by Mr Russell as an “Uber for tutors”, Pocketnote differentiates itself from other in the industry by allowing parents to compare qualifications, rates and reviews from past students for every verified tutor registered on the platform.
Another drawcard for parents was the virtual teaching offered by almost every registered tutor.
Mr Russell said this feature alone had seen many parents sign up while their families were self isolating at home during the COVID-19 global pandemic.
“We also have a function to ensure that when searching through our tutors, you can search by school. We understand that alumni tutoring current students is preferred,” Mr Russell, who graduated in 2012 from St Joseph’s College Gregory Terrace, said.
Pocketnote has tutors across all school subjects and can even cater to instrumental and language students as well as anyone needing some extra tutoring for tests such as UCAT, SAT, HSAT and STAT.
Mr Russell said the app was changing the face of the “antiquated” tutoring industry and doing away with the “secret book held by schools with a long list of past high-achieving students that they recommend as tutors”.
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He dreamt up the business while studying on exchange at Boston College in 2016.
“I was doing an entrepreneurial finance course and all we spoke about was starting a business,” he said.
“I spoke with other exchange students and my professor about the potential for an ‘Uber for tutors’ app.
I had done plenty of tutoring in high school and university and always thought that the entire industry was antiquated and demanded innovation.”
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He went on to study Law, Commerce and Japanese at the University of Queensland.
“I graduated from those degrees in June 2019 and then at the end of last year made the decision to follow my gut and pursue Pocketnote rather than a career in law,” Mr Russell said.
“My ambition is to remove the disconnect that currently exists between the classroom and private tutoring, with a strong focus on relationship building between all key parties: parents, students, tutors, teachers and the school itself.”
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