Toot

Toot is a Science Inc backed education startup that helps students get the support and help they need to finish their homework and succeed in school.

When

2014 - 2016

Role

Co-founder & CPO

The Problem

Coming from personal experience, the toot founding team and myself experienced challenges finding reliable and affordable tutors while growing up. This shared experience pushed us to dive deeper and conduct market research. After interviewing alumni, students, tutors and parents we quickly realized a shared dilemma.

• Lack of private tutoring solutions

• Expensive hourly rates for students

• Unfairly compensated tutors

• Last minute help non existent

Users & Audience

Initially targeting Los Angeles, the end goal was to target the entire US student market. High school students are the primary customer market with parents having more discretionary money. Most tutors are college students looking for additional income.

• Customers: High School Students

• Tutors: College Students

• 77M U.S. Students

• 1.9M Los Angeles Students

Student Problems

• Inconsistent schedules

• Tight budgets

• Don’t carry cash or checks

• Uncomfortable asking for help

• Transportation challenges

Tutor Problems

• Finding new clients

• Filling hours consistently

• Schedule Management

• Struggling to get paid

• Verifying their expertise

• High commission rates

Team & Role

I found Toot with two other partners who assumed the positions of CTO and CEO. I assumed all design responsibilities for the company on a part-time basis. I was responsible for product design, marketing materials and branding.

Sophia Parsa (CEO), Shakib Zabihian (CTO), Brian Waxham (CPO)

Product Timeline

Research

We gathered input from high school and college students about their tutoring experiences. A consistent theme we heard from students was the We set out to address the need for a convenient mobile tutoring solution. Knowing that we had to create an entire marketplace for both students and tutors, we optimized the experience for students. After sifting through and condensing the feedback we received from tutors and students, we designed and developed the first version of Toot.

Ideate & Sketch

Spending a significant amount of time sketching out ideal flows for both tutors and students, this step helped me create a feature list and find unexpected scenarios. 

User Interface

(2014)

Activity & Notifications

On Demand Tutor Booking

Discover Nearby Tutors

Chat

Launched Version 1

Key Takeaways

In hindsight the first version of Toot had more features than necessary. Although we received user feedback and encouraging words throughout development, I should have conducted adequate user tests.

• Booking process was confusing

• Users didn't find value in discovering nearby tutors

• Users weren't incentivized to invite others

• Tutors needed an Android version of the app

Addressing Version 1 Issues

After launching version 1 of Toot and getting some initial traction, we felt confident launching on android and refining the product further.

• Create new booking experience

• Merge on-demand feature into new booking experience

• A tab was devoted to incentivizing users to invite their friends

• Created an android version of the app

Re-imagining the booking experience

The tutor booking process was the centerpiece of the app and how students went from a user into a customer. This new experience needed to guide users through the entire booking process while being personalized.

• Guide users through each step

• Suggest tutoring locations

• Find course specific tutoring

• Personalize tutor offers

User Interface

(2015)

Select or search by subject, school or tutor

Specify when you need help

Select a location or get tutored online

Accept a tutor that best suits you

App Demo

Key Takeaways

Version 2 of Toot lead to a significant increase in sessions booked and helped us reach a larger user base with our Android app. The new booking process we also discovered a user habit; most preferred to book tutors last minute and sought immediate homework help.  

A  Moment of Reflection

Although we had seen promising metrics after the release of version 2, we still weren't seeing the impact we had hoped for. With user acquisition costs high and profit margins thin, we had to pivot the product. At first we thought to refine the core product and create a 24/7 chat. This Toot chat would help answer homework questions and match users with a tutor If necessary. Learning from our experience developing and supporting an iOS and Android app, we knew testing incremental product improvements wasn't sustainable nor would it lead to the metrics we desired. 

Pre Pivot User Interface 

Before deciding to take a different direction with the product we breifly worked on this updated interface.

• 24/7 Customer Assistance

• Interface simplified and re-designed

Didn't Launch Version 3

Although we considered updating the app's UI one last time, we felt version 2 did an adequate job while we explored our pivot. During this transition phase I decided to step down as CPO and only offer advice or design help on a contractual basis.

The Problem

Applying the knowledge we gained from the previous versions of our product, we realized users ultimately wanted instant homework help and assistance. Seeking a more profitable business model and leaner product, we set out to solve this problem without building an entirely new app. 

Research

Realizing users wanted quick access to instant homework help, we thought to remove any barriers possible. Instead of requiring users to download an app, sign up and learn a new interface, we thought to leverage something all students already had and were familiar with; Texting. This hypothesize lead us to create a phone number students could text and receive instant homework help from. We started advertising this number and offered free help to test demand. The response was significant enough that we built a new business model around it.

User Experience

Web Interface

(2016)

Conclusion

Though the texting service was much more accessible and viral than our original product, converting students into paid customers proved extremely challenging. We sacrificed initial signup only to require it during our web signup further decreasing paid customer conversions.

Since I stepped down as CPO and only helped out on a consulting basis in 2016, I don’t have metrics to share regarding version 4 of Toot. In 2017 the Toot team created a new mobile product called Homework Answers that I had no involvement in. The company has since been dissolved.