I co-founded it from scratch: the website, the pricing, the branding, and finding clients. Sessions are 1-on-1 over Google Meet. The tutors scored between 1540 and 1570, including a perfect 800 on Math. The pitch is simple: get help from someone who just did this.
Co-found a student-run SAT tutoring service that connects Tri-Valley students with tutors who recently scored 1500+, so good, relatable test prep is actually available across Dublin, Pleasanton, San Ramon, and Danville.
- —Co-founded the whole thing from scratch: figured out how it would work, set the pricing, and built it around tutors who had just taken the test themselves
- —Built the website and the branding in Next.js and Tailwind
- —Found and onboarded clients across four Tri-Valley cities
- —Ran 1-on-1 SAT sessions over Google Meet, working with students on both Math and Reading/Writing
- —Kept track of scheduling and progress for repeat students while carrying a full school schedule myself
- —How to start a service business from end to end: the branding, the pricing, the website, and the hardest part by far, finding and keeping the first real clients
- —How to turn my own recent SAT experience into a way of teaching that actually works for students a year or two behind me, instead of just explaining how I did it
- —How much client communication and just being reliable matters. Families are trusting you with something they care about, and showing up consistently is basically the whole product
- —Why a specific, believable pitch like 'learn from someone who just scored 1540+' works way better than a generic one
SAT prep in the Tri-Valley is mostly expensive corporate test-prep centers taught by adults who took the test decades ago. My co-founder and I had just scored between 1540 and 1570, including a perfect 800 on Math, and we realized the most relatable and up-to-date help could come from students who had just done it themselves. Tri-Valley Prep is that idea turned into a real service.
We built the brand, the pricing, and the website ourselves, then went out and found clients across Dublin, Pleasanton, San Ramon, and Danville. Tutoring happens 1-on-1 over Google Meet so we can cover all four cities without renting a space. The pitch is simple and specific on purpose: get help from someone who just sat in your seat and scored 1500+.
Tri-Valley Prep is live and working with students across all four cities. Past the tutoring itself, it's been the most complete lesson I've had in running something real. Every part of it, from the landing page to the relationships with repeat clients, is something we built and keep running ourselves.