For a student, finding a tutor has always been an odd process. Often, they’re found via word of mouth, but there’s never been an efficient way to compare found tutors to other potential options. The tutor recommended is the tutor last used. Fortunately, Tutorspree, founded by Aaron Harris, Josh Abrams, and Ryan Bednar, is using the Internet to match teachers with students in a more effective way.

Harris, who has known Abrams for years and met Bednar while looking for a third co-founder, thought of the site after being on both sides of the tutor-student relationship growing up. “The idea itself grew out of our shared experiences finding tutors in high school and as tutors in college. We realized how broken the whole system was and set out to fix it. Tutorspree is an online marketplace for local tutoring. Basically, we find great tutors near you and make sure you can book sessions with the best ones in just a few clicks,” Harris said.

Tutors are able to join the site after being screened. They make make a profile for themselves, pick the subjects they’re comfortable tutoring, provide a brief educational background, and set their rate per hour. Students can then find registered tutor on the site, searching for tutors by location and subject matter. People of all ages can use the service, so many of the people looking for tutors are parents of students that need extra help with their classwork. Tutorspree maintains profitability by collecting 50-percent of the tutor’s rate for the first lesson with a new student, and 12-percent for subsequent lessons.

While Harris noted that the largest concentration of tutors remain in New York, Los Angeles, and the Bay Area, Tutorspree is available across the United States. Tutorspree’s plan is to continue growing and expand. “Tutorspree is going to grow all over the country and the world! We want to be the go-to for students in need of personal attention no matter where they are, or what they need. To do that, we're going to have to keep improving what we've already built and we have a bunch of ideas about how to do that best.”