By Haley Zadel, ’20
Tutoring can be a daunting concept for a lot of students who are struggling with academic success. It is easy to become discouraged if you have an adult tutor who you have nothing in common with and is out-of-touch with the current times. Luckily, the world of tutoring is changing thanks to SMU Dallas sophomore Aryan Bhatnagar. His company, EZTutor, is a network of top students in the Dallas-Fort Worth area that have mastered their curriculum to the point where they can teach it.
EZTutor is a marketplace for peer-to-peer tutoring that provides young and experienced tutors to students in need. Students can easily connect and form a bond with their peer tutor because they are close in age. This connection fosters a comfortable learning environment for the student to grow in. EZTutor also believes that money should never be a deterrent when it comes to education. While private tutors typically charge 60 dollars an hour, EZTutor offers lessons starting at 25 dollars an hour. EZTutor is also flexible. With no upfront fees or contracts, students can book as many or as few lessons as they want and are able to easily cancel or reschedule if needed.
In high school, Bhatnagar saw the disconnect between student and tutor as a problem worth trying to fix. Starting out, he was unsure if the concept of a peer-to-peer tutoring company would work, but this quickly changed when he started pitching his idea.
Bhatnagar has won several pitch competitions that have helped him fund his company which include SMU’s Big iDeas Pitch Competition in 2019, SMU’s Big iDeas Business PlanCompetition in 2019 and 2020, and MBA Cox Competition in 2019.
“Big iDeas has honestly helped me so much. I think the biggest thing it’s given me is mentorship. If you don’t have someone who is experienced and is betting on you, other people won’t want to bet on you either. That’s something I learned early on is that you need to have people who are making sure you have the right framework,” explained Bhatnagar.
Bhatnagar is planning to expand the EZTutor network to twenty school districts in low-income areas. He wants to make sure that students at these schools know that college is a viable option for them. I think it is safe to say that the future of EZTutor is going to be bright!