Tutorspree was an online marketplace that matched students with local tutors, founded in 2010 by Aaron Harris, Josh Abrams, and Ryan Bednar.3612 The company raised $1.8 million from investors including Sequoia Capital and Lerer Ventures, and was backed by Y Combinator.134567816 Tutorspree shut down in September 2013 after its founders decided they could not scale the company to meet their goals.1345678916
Timeline
| Date | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Tutorspree was founded by Aaron Harris, Josh Abrams, and Ryan Bednar. | 36 |
| 2011-01 | Tutorspree launched out of Y Combinator's Winter 2011 class as an online marketplace for K-12 tutors. | 412 |
| 2011-06 | Tutorspree claimed a 60% rebooking rate and its top tutor earned $2,000 in one month. | 6 |
| 2011-08 | Tutorspree expanded to Philadelphia, with city coverage including New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington, Boston, and Philadelphia. | 6 |
| 2011-10 | Tutorspree reported a 50% commission on a new student's first lesson and 12% on subsequent lessons. | 6 |
| 2011 | Tutorspree raised a $1 million seed round. | 7 |
| 2012-03 | Tutorspree pivoted to assisted matching, which doubled revenue within a month. | 6 |
| 2013-02 | Tutorspree raised an additional $800,000 from investors including Resolute. | 467 |
| 2013-03 | Tutorspree's traffic fell roughly 80% overnight, which founder Aaron Harris suspected was due to a Google algorithm change. | 616 |
| 2013-09-08 | Tutorspree announced it was shutting down. | 145 |
| 2013-09 | Tutorspree closed after raising about $1.8 million. | 3678916 |
| 2014-01 | Wyzant acquired Tutorspree's assets for an undisclosed price. | 67 |
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Which Company This Is
What They Do, And How The Money Works
Who Runs It, And How To Reach Them
The Money: Funding, Valuation, Runway
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Warning Bells
Sources
12 cited sources found
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Money raised
Tutorspree raised a total of $1.8 million.134567816 In 2011, Tutorspree raised a $1 million seed round.7 In February 2013, Tutorspree raised an additional $800,000 from investors including Resolute.467 Investors in Tutorspree included Sequoia Capital, Lerer Ventures, Founder Collective, SV Angel, and Thrive Capital.2616 Tutorspree took a 50% commission on a new student's first lesson and 12% on subsequent lessons.612 Tutorspree's top tutor earned $2,000 in one month, according to company claims in June 2011.6 Tutorspree planned to return remaining capital to investors after shutting down.67
Investors named in the sources: Sequoia Capital24616, Lerer Ventures2616, Founder Collective6, SV Angel6, Thrive Capital6, Resolute67, Y Combinator13467121316.
What happened
Tutorspree was founded in 2010 by Aaron Harris, Josh Abrams, and Ryan Bednar.36 The founders had little experience in the education category, according to observers cited by AlleyWatch.2 Tutorspree launched in January 2011 as an online marketplace for K-12 tutors, often called the 'Airbnb for tutoring'.412 The service allowed parents to search for tutors by location and subject, view profiles with credentials and prices, and book lessons.12 Tutorspree initially operated in San Francisco, Washington, New York, and Los Angeles.12
By August 2011, Tutorspree had expanded to Philadelphia, with coverage in six cities.6 Tutorspree claimed a 60% rebooking rate and its top tutor earned $2,000 in one month in June 2011.6 The company charged a 50% commission on a new student's first lesson and 12% on subsequent lessons.612 Tutorspree raised a $1 million seed round in 2011.7 In March 2012, Tutorspree pivoted to assisted matching, which doubled revenue within a month and tripled revenue over the next six months.6
The pivot improved margins from 15% to 40%, and the company recorded a profitable month.6 By 2013, Tutorspree had over 7,000 tutors on its platform.3716 In February 2013, Tutorspree raised an additional $800,000 from investors including Resolute.467 In March 2013, Tutorspree's traffic fell roughly 80% overnight, which founder Aaron Harris suspected was due to a Google algorithm change.616 Most traffic recovered by June 2013, but with poorer lead quality.6
Tutorspree was too dependent on traffic from Google, according to a source familiar with the situation.2 The company's founders decided to shut down because they could not scale it to meet their goals.4 Tutorspree announced its closure on September 8, 2013.145 The company still had cash and planned to return remaining funds after paying employees and creditors.6 Tutorspree's assets, including its user database, were acquired by Wyzant in January 2014 for an undisclosed price.367
Founder Aaron Harris joined Y Combinator as a partner in 2013.613 Harris later hosted 'Startup School Radio' on SiriusXM, which launched in March 2015.13 Tutorspree's shutdown was attributed to bad marketing, competitive market, and impractical vision by IdeaProof.8 The company's failure was also linked to its dependence on SEO and Google traffic.216 Tutorspree's founders lacked domain expertise in education, according to observers.2
The platform's initial 50% commission may have discouraged repeat usage, as tutors and students could arrange lessons directly.3 Tutorspree's in-person model faced competition from online tutoring platforms that offered more stickiness.7 The company's closure was not due to financial reasons, according to PandoDaily's Erin Griffith.1 Tutorspree was making some money, but its founders decided to call it quits.2 The company's staff consisted of 10 employees at the time of shutdown, according to its website.4
Tutorspree's founders announced the closure in a post to the company's official blog.4 CEO Aaron Harris said the decision was emotionally tough but rationally the right move.4 Tutorspree's assets were purchased by Wyzant, a competitor launched in 2005.3 Wyzant later became part of IXL Learning in 2021.67 Tutorspree's failure was studied as a case of overreliance on a single marketing channel.16
The company's shutdown was covered by multiple publications, including TechCrunch and Business Insider.14 Tutorspree's founders had previously worked at companies like Bridgewater Associates and SeatGeek.6 The company's early team included Paul deGrandis and freelance designer Brent Meyer.6 Tutorspree's market was estimated at $3.5–5 billion in 2011.6 The company faced competition from personal referrals, local agencies, and free school tutoring.6
Tutorspree's closure was not solely due to running out of money, as it still had cash.6 The company's founders said they could not make Tutorspree the company they wanted.46 Tutorspree's shutdown was described as a 'boondoggle' by AlleyWatch.2 The company's failure was attributed to a lack of passion and domain expertise by AlleyWatch.2 Tutorspree's dependence on Google traffic was highlighted as a key mistake.216
The company's pivot to assisted matching improved revenue but did not solve the growth problem.6 Tutorspree's traffic drop in March 2013 was a major blow to its customer acquisition.616 The company's founders decided to shut down rather than continue with a business that could not scale.4 Tutorspree's assets were sold to Wyzant, which continued to operate in the tutoring market.367 The company's closure was announced on September 8, 2013, and it ceased operations shortly after.145
Tutorspree's failure was used as a lesson in startup post-mortems.216 The company's founders moved on to other ventures, with Aaron Harris joining Y Combinator.613
Where the founders are now
Aaron Harris joined Y Combinator as a partner in 2013.613 Aaron Harris hosted 'Startup School Radio' on SiriusXM, which launched in March 2015.13 Before Tutorspree, Aaron Harris worked at Bridgewater Associates.613 Ryan Bednar had previously worked at SeatGeek.6
Lessons, as others put them
"The problem, observers say, is that the company’s founders, Aaron Harris, Ryan Bednar and Josh Abrams had little experience in the education category and not enough time to gain domain expertise."AlleyWatch2
"Never, EVER depend on SEO or Google traffic to generate new business."AlleyWatch2
"Nor is the largest lesson for me that SEO shouldn’t be part of a startup’s marketing kit. It should be there, but it has to be just one of many tools. SEO cannot be the only channel a company has, nor can any other single-channel serve that purpose."Aaron Harris, co-founder and CEO of Tutorspree16
"Ultimately, we learned about the challenges of willing a company into existence, of building an incredible and unique team to tackle constantly shifting challenges. And finally, we learned about how to make the toughest decision of all – to shut Tutorspree down, not because it was not a business, but because we could not make it the company we wanted."Tutorspree co-founders4
"We built something we were incredibly proud of, but got to the point where we realized it would not scale in a way that would meet our goals. It was a tough decision emotionally, but it was the right move from the rational perspective."Aaron Harris, CEO of Tutorspree4
Sources
- After Raising $1.8 Million, Y Combinator Startup Tutorspree Shuts Down, Business Insider, 2013-09-08
- Startup Boondoggles – Lessons from Tutorspree, AlleyWatch
- What Happened to Tutorspree, the Tutoring Marketplace?, failory.com
- Tutorspree, The Tutor-Matching Startup Backed By Sequoia And YC, Shuts Down | TechCrunch, TechCrunch, 2013-09-08
- After Raising $1.8 Million, Y Combinator Startup Tutorspree ..., finance.yahoo.com, Sep 8, 201
- Tutorspree: Why It Shut Down and How to Rebuild It - Startups.RIP, startups.rip, September
- Scaled and Failed #26 – 💯 GoStudent and 📚 Tutorspree, scaledandfailed.substack.com, 5 years ag
- Test Your Idea in 120s — Free AI Startup Validator | IdeaProof, IdeaProof.io
- Tutorspree Failed: Why $2M Couldn't Fix Local Marketplace | ValidMyIdea, ValidMyIdea
- YC-Backed Tutorspree Is An Airbnb For Tutoring | TechCrunch, TechCrunch, 2011-01-27
- SiriusXM to Launch "Startup School Radio" with Y Combinator Partner Aaron Harris, prnewswire.com, 2015-02-25
- What These 4 Startup Case Studies Can Teach You About Failure, Foundr, 2020-12-06
How this case file was put together
Every statement on this page carries a numbered note, and every note points to a court record, a regulatory filing or a named publication in the list of sources. Each statement was checked against the text of the sources it cites before it was published: a figure, a date or a name the cited source does not contain was cut rather than kept. Allegations are shown as allegations, with their status at the time of the source (filed, charged, convicted, pleaded, settled, dismissed or pending). Quoted lessons are the words of the person or publication named with them, copied from the cited source; nothing here is our own opinion of why the company failed.
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