How Snapask Started with a Facebook Page, with Founder Timothy Yu

You don’t need to code to launch a unicorn startup. Through a non-code or low-code MVP (Minimum Viable Product), entrepreneurs can easily validate the assumptions, understand customers’ real pain points and test whether the business model will work or not. That simple lesson is ignored by many founders and is behind the failure of countless business initatives. Today’s guest Timothy Yu, founder and CEO of Snapask, an on-demand tutoring platform labeled as “Uber for Tutors” which just raised $35M in Series B, did not know about low fidelity prototyping. But he used the concept before he went through the SOSV Chinaccelerator’s Batch 8 program. In today’s conversation, Tim will share how the company has grown from a simple Facebook page to an arising edtech company with over 100 employees, operating in 8 Asian markets and reaching almost 300million users. Tim will also give us a deep analysis on its two users - tutors and users and the data-driven strategies to acquire and retain both of them. Is technology shaping the future education industry? “How people can attain the ability of self-learning and apply them in life is going to be one of the most important skills in the future”, this is what Timothy believes and what Snapask is trying to offer.EPISODE NOTES02:26 Welcome Tim03:08 What is Snapask06:08 The tutorial market and how Snapask got started06:27 Snapaks operates in 8 markets07:00 How the COVID-19 impacts the remote education08:10 The vision and the first version of Snapask11:28 Finding the profiles of users12:30 The stereotypes of asking questions in Asian culture14:00 Targeting at parents or students?20:00 The tutors on Snapask25:00 Investors care about the supply-demand balance29:00 What is the next for Snapask31:30 How will COVID-19 impact the future of education35:00 How to contact Timothy YuMany thanks to our host Oscar Ramos; our guest Timothy Yu; producer Eva Shi; editors David; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsors People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.comShare, subscribe, review, enjoy!Follow us on Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/company/the-china-startup-pulse/Email us: [email protected]