Choosing full-time startup life right after university graduation

Today marks the official launch of Flowclass.

I can’t believe that it's been over three years since we founded the company. After countless pivots, we're proud to introduce Flowclass - Course Marketing Platform Builder for Educators.

I never imagined that what started as a hobby project in my sophomore year would become my full-time job (along with six more partners). After going through a year of exchange, graduation, and almost going bankrupt, Flowclass is still here, growing every month.

I'm grateful for all the partners, colleagues, and interns who have been with us along the way, even though we were very stagnant at times.

From the beginning, our mission has been to create software that serves the education industry. And today, we're one step closer to achieving that mission.

Thank you to everyone who has been a part of this journey. It really feels that we are “growing up” together.

——— Why we started?

From our early days as a note-sharing platform to a private tutor-matching app, we have always been in the education industry.

Do I have a great passion for teaching? Not really. I find it really exhausting. I would prefer to code or film videos.

However, in the past few years, I've met many friends who are deeply into education. I have heard many stories about the challenges we all face. The education industry is where I have my own insights, while having the ability to create useful solutions.

Starting with my experiences creating YouTube videos, I've always wanted to work on projects in which I can influence the outcome.

While I've worked for several companies in the past, I knew that the traditional corporate lifestyle wasn't for me. That's why I took the leap into entrepreneurship, even though I knew it would be more challenging and risky. I'm fortunate to have partners and a team willing to go on this crazy adventure together.

——— What’s Flowclass now?

We know that many people have a passion for teaching and want to offer classes on topics that he is interested in, like math, cooking, programming, or art. But creating a website to showcase your courses can be challenging, especially if you are not doing an online course.

I’ve seen our clients use Wix or Shopify, which is a hassle because they are not built for classes and workshops. That's where Flowclass comes in - our platform is specifically designed for creating websites that make it easy for students to sign up, choose timeslots, and make payments. We even offer education-specific marketing features like trial classes and discounts.

With our AI website creation feature, you can quickly generate course descriptions and class content using our pre-designed templates.

We're always improving our platform to make it even more user-friendly and efficient, so we welcome your feedback.

——— The Challenge

Sometimes when I look back, I can’t help but compare my progress with the others. Am I a failure that I haven’t raised a couple of millions? Or set up offices in multiple countries, and have hundreds of thousands of users?

When I returned from the overseas exchange, I felt lost and directionless. My startup was stagnant, and my peers were starting their careers in reputable companies. Last August, I wanted to give up and was asking friends around me if they had any openings.

But my partners reassured me, “You are experiencing what all successful founders will experience.” We experimented with different paths to profitability. Months later, we found the model of digital marketing agency that fueled the revenue needed for developing the Flowclass software.

Looking back on the past three years, I wouldn’t think it is a string of failed projects. Each time we've had to pivot or restructure, I start over again. So, sometimes I tell others that Flowclass was founded only one year ago (I cheated a bit on this).

Every time I bring more business, programming, and leadership skills to myself. It is like the curve of y = x + 10sin(x)

——— Final Words

If you're interested in creating your own website for your classes or services, give Flowclass a try here: https://flowclass.io

Your feedback is valuable to us, whether it's positive or negative. It helps us improve and ensure we're heading in the right direction.

Also, please consider sharing this post on your feed to help spread the word about Flowclass.

Start-up is a risky and tiring path. Your action can help more people discover Flowclass and make student recruitment much easier and intuitive. Thank you in advance for your support!

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