Minute Tutor.
Minute Tutor connects students with potential tutors over Skype video chat. Tutors charge by the minute; payments run through PayPal. The pitch was simple: when you need help on one problem, you don't need to book a full hour.
the story.
The thesis: traditional tutoring is high friction. You book in advance, you commit to an hour, you pay the hour rate even if you only had one question. Most homework help happens at 10pm the night before, on one problem, and lasts five minutes.
Minute Tutor was a two-sided marketplace. Students browsed available tutors by subject; tutors set their per-minute rate. The app gated a Skype call between them and metered the duration. PayPal handled the payout.
I learned that two-sided marketplaces are hard — supply needs to be there before demand, but supply won't show up without demand. I also learned that 'easy to build, hard to grow' is a real shape of startup, and not always one you want.
the thing itself.
