🎬 Behind the scenes

• Founders Rudy and Sarthak are both first-year students
• Turbolearn launched in October of 2023, looking to raise a seed round
• They have over 1,500+ users with dozens paying for a subscription
• Rudy: Previously a VC intern, creator of a b2b marketing tool used by 30 YC companies, and co-founder of WorkBee (50k+ in revenue) with Sarthak as a freshman in high school.
• Sarthak: 4x founder starting in high school with his biggest project, Gradify, reaching 27,000+ active users and 900,000+ monthly sessions during his junior year.

🌍 College Students Problem

Trust me when I say this, college students have a lot of problems, but one of the big ones is taking notes in an organized, aesthetically pleasing way while maintaining efficiency.

Also, everyone has different best practices when it comes to learning and absorbing information. If you prefer more listening than scribbling down notes before your professor erases the board, you’re in luck.

And, if you ‘accidentally’ miss that 8am class, which seemed like a good idea at registration, there’s no need to panic. Instead of enduring a two-hour lecture recording or trying to decode your friend’s notes that look more like hyrogliphics than calculus, Turbolearn has your back.

🤖 Studying Smarter, Not Harder

Turbolearn’s software allows students to record or upload full lectures, class work, YouTube videos or any other websites to receive detailed notes with visuals, flashcards, and quizzes.

Students can access this program for free or select from two different upgrade options starting at $4/mo up to $8/mo with extended services for each option.

📈 Catalysts for TurboLearn

Getting into why this company has a competitive advantage when it comes to competitors…

1. Both founders are impressively experienced for their age, and have technical backgrounds with the ability to scale and sell which is proven by their previous start-ups. 

2. Since they’re in school and marketing to their peers, there is probably a natural sense of relatability with users. Plus, being on campus gives them the opportunity to interact and gain insights from their target market on a daily basis.

3. Turbolearn provides real value to students by tackling a genuine issue, one that I would imagine a good portion of students would dish out a few bucks a month for.

🚧 The Road Ahead

Looking at the competitors and target market reveals a somewhat competitive landscape with a few other players directly competing against them for market share. This includes..

• Mindgrasp (Instant notes, summaries, flashcards, quizzes)
• Tanna.AI (Instant transcription and summary of audio/video)
• NoteGoat (AI tool for superior in-person/virtual session notes)

Given that the student consumer market is pretty elastic (i.e. we are broke), the growth of their product relies on pricing relative to competitors, paired with the features at each price level 

📈 Path Moving Forward

For now, Turbolearn is focusing on advancing product development and growth while leveraging its existing user base to gather user feedback.

Rudy and Sarthak also stand out from the competition by being in college and having some publicity. Other students may feel like their approach and product are more of a collaborative vibe than sales vibe when marketing this product to their peers.

💡College Entrepreneur Insight

The biggest advantage Rudy and Sarthak have realized from starting their entrepreneurial journey so early….

Age is irrelevant. There’s nothing that can’t be learnt. 

📸 Milestone Montage

• Forbes (2023)
• Bold Journey (2023)
• Start-up Comp. Finalists (2023)
• SHOUTOUT DFW (2022)
• TEDx Plano Senior HS Speaker (2022)
• America’s Top Young Entrepreneur (2021)

🎬 Behind the scenes

• Founders, Kongphat and Kolatat, at UcA and UoR in the UK
• Launched in April of 2022 and now work with 20 interns/researchers
• Prepping for a seed round of fundraising in spring
• Various projects with eco-sustainability as the name of the game 

🌍 Today’s Problem

With global warming cranking up the heat and pollution not improving much, the world is in need of a more concrete push for sustainability. Here’s why…

• The # of annual heat waves has increased 8x since 1980
• In buildings, heating and cooling takes up 50-60% of energy use
• Real estate is trying to go green as well, with developers looking for eco-friendly materials

These issues aren’t limited to commercial buildings; typical homes in most tropical regions struggle to keep their homes at comfortable temperatures without breaking the bank.

Also, this isn’t just affecting homeowners’ wallets, the unnecessary energy use furthers issues with pollution and air quality. 

Mix this hefty energy appetite with pollution from other manufacturers around the globe and you’ve got yourself a substantial serving of environmental worries. Bon appétit! 😬 

So… what’s the next move? 

These two students have a patented solution…

🧱 Brick by Brick Revolution

Combining their backgrounds in architecture and environmental sustainability, Kongphat and Kolatat crafted a new building material.

Introducing the Semi Calcite Passive Brick

— AKA the future of construction

This patented, self-regulating thermal brick offers a more energy-efficient solution. It also tackles waste by incorporating recycled materials like shells, glass, and plastic into its manufacturing process.

More details on the brick and manufacturing process here

Getting manufacturers on board is currently underway, specifically, talks are being had with producers in Thailand.

Overall, Phytavaren is gearing up for major expansion. They’re just waiting on a few head nods (letters of intent) from construction companies and final touches on their license agreements. Their bricks in action

This brick isn’t just any other building material: it’s building a brighter future

📈 Catalysts for Phytavaren

Kongphat and Kolatat have been hustling, getting signed off on multiple deals with manufacturers, and builders, and generating over $40k in revenue so far…

30 tons of their bricks have already been used in the construction of an indigenous bird conservatory and a one-story residential home.

More images available here

Phytavaren Tech is doing the right things. They’re building strategic relationships with the Japanese External Trade Organization and Thailand’s Board of Investment. This helps them secure more countries to expand into going forward in 2024.

Plus, they’ve got some academic allies in their corner!

Several colleges have joined their mission with PhD researchers lending a hand to help oversee the brick’s chemical makeup during production and evaluate the material’s airflow process.

🚧 The Road Ahead

The only potential speed bump is ensuring their bricks comply with international building regulations since each nation has its own slightly different rules and processes.

While they wait for further investments to come in, they’re currently zeroing in on having a manufacturing plant to commit to exclusively producing their brick.

Once that’s secured they are off to the races…or should I say…construction sites 🏗️

💡 College Entrepreneur Insight

As a college student myself, I love asking other students what their biggest advantages has been starting a college as a student, versus waiting until after graduation.

An insight I took away from my meeting with Kolatat and Konphat was their view on higher education.

They view college as more of a research institution than a school, which allows students the time (as long as they’re not cramming for finals) and resources to find gaps in the existing research.

From there, pairing those gaps in research with current market conditions allows students the opportunity to pursue many different business ideas all while taking classes.

Looking at college as a research institution, instead of an extension of my K-12 education is something I already knew. However, it never really resonated with me until now, but I definitely prefer their way of thinking about this.