Original Text: https://sme.hket.com/article/2977379/%E3%80%90%E7%96%AB%E5%B8%82%E7%AD%96%E7%95%A5%E3%80%91%E5%AE%89%E5%9D%90%E5%AE%B6%E4%B8%AD%E9%85%8D%E5%B0%8D%E7%AF%A9%E9%81%B8%E8%A3%9C%E7%BF%92%E7%A4%BE%C2%A0%20%E9%81%BF%E5%85%8D%E8%B2%A8%E4%B8%8D%E5%B0%8D%E8%BE%A6%20%20%E7%B6%B2%E4%B8%8A%E5%B9%B3%E5%8F%B0%E9%96%8B%E6%8B%93%E5%95%86%E6%A9%9F?mtc=20023

In recent years, a wave of youth entrepreneurship has swept across the globe, with many young people in Hong Kong joining the ranks. Ivan, a Global Business major at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, is one such individual. This year, he founded the note-sharing platform Flowsophic (飄識) and the direct matching tutoring platform Flowclass.

[iMoney Exclusive Interview] Note-Sharing Platform “FloNotes” Fulfills Entrepreneurial Dreams – Youth Hope for Diverse Learning

Date of issue13:03 2021/06/09

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Tutoring Matching Platform “Flowsophic”

During the pandemic, when everyone stayed indoors, students often faced difficulties finding tutors. Some companies have launched online platforms to address these pain points, successfully stabilizing their footing during the pandemic.

Founded in February 2021, the tutoring comparison and matching platform “Flowclass” was created by Ming Hui. He pointed out that traditional private tutoring matching platforms typically involve paid intermediaries. To achieve matches, these intermediaries often avoid direct communication between students and tutors, leading to absurd situations at times. For example, a tutor might teach a subject in English but be matched with a student who requires instruction in their native language, resulting in inefficient learning.

To eliminate such issues, Flowclass emphasizes high transparency in its service. Before finalizing a match, the platform provides a chatroom for direct communication between students and tutors. Additionally, Flowclass collaborates with physical tutoring centers. Ming noted that during the pandemic, most students searched for tutors online, resulting in only the top search results receiving students, which is unhealthy. He said, “This involves digital marketing, and physical tutoring centers that haven’t invested in this area are at a significant disadvantage. Many physical centers have excellent tutors and use promotional flyers or display students’ public exam results at their premises. However, if potential clients don’t visit the center, they won’t receive this information. Flowclass digitizes this process, allowing users to easily find reputable tutoring centers. Users can also view previous student reviews through a messaging system to obtain objective information quickly. We also help students with special learning needs connect with tutoring centers that offer specialized services.”

Flowclass has now partnered with nearly 80 tutoring centers and has around 100 private tutors using the platform, with over 1,000 student clients. Ming pointed out that electronic platforms have been less affected by the pandemic and are likely to become the mainstream marketing model in recent years. He said, “Tutoring centers need more clients, and we provide comprehensive promotional services for them. For private tutors, in addition to one-on-one tutoring, some hobby class instructors can also find students through us. They typically want to form small groups of five to six students because sufficient students are needed to rent space for classes. However, finding multiple students simultaneously is generally difficult, and Flowclass can help such tutors. We address industry pain points.”