How it all started, wild plans and vacancies!

It feels weird writing this article. Five years ago, I started Studied with the ambition to build a scalable business formula that is not only lucrative, but also socially valuable. I thought it would be fun to look back on this adventure through this blog.

A crazy start.

When I turn the movie back, the start of Studied was actually really weird. The year was 2017 and I had just completed my VWO. Not only that, I had also just deregistered my first company with the Chamber of Commerce. My partner and I managed and supported events in Maastricht and the surrounding area, especially in the techno scene. Exciting times, because that included my hard-earned savings and I had no experience as an entrepreneur yet. Over time, however, both of them worked out and I discovered a side of myself that I didn't know yet. After all, I come from a teaching family, so doing business was not something he had on a young child. In any case, my first company required a lot of night work, so I decided to quit due to the start of my law degree at Maastricht University.

At the start of my studies, I went out a lot for a few months, met a lot of people and did my best to score good points, but something still gnawed. In order not to burn out all my savings during this period, I worked in the hospitality industry. That felt like a bad investment of my time. So I slowly started thinking about how I could do something for myself again. Eventually, one of my old high school teachers asked me if I wanted to tutor. I thought that was something, because it deserved better than the hospitality industry and was challenging in terms of content. I answered yes and I started tutoring the student. After one of my tutoring sessions, a random student at the school's open learning center asked if I could also teach physics. I couldn't do that, but I did realize that I could get people who could. Although I was already teaching under the Studied banner and had a business plan, I think this was actually the day that I started building hard on Studied.

The roller coaster ride.

Although the private education market is relatively calm, it has been quite a roller coaster ride in recent years. We started by offering customized tutoring for high school students under a strong brand. Over time, we got the hang of that and the team started to grow. In the meantime, we increasingly also helped primary, MBO, HBO or WO students. The choice to add it to our offerings this school year therefore felt natural. After all, I want to achieve the best results with the company, but I also have big ambitions. The sky is the limit!

That pursuit has yielded good results and great experiences. We've helped a lot of students. From guidance in the transition from TL to Havo to scoring a certain average for an exclusive course. We have been there! But, we haven't seen everything yet. This is how I enjoy our new experiences with primary school students. What a nice target group that actually is. The kids who come to us are often between two secondary school levels and would like to go to the higher level of two. Talk about motivation! I really enjoy seeing the student teachers achieve this ambition with the kids. Is education probably in my blood after all...

In addition to these good times, there were certainly bad times. For example, I am grateful that the past two years of the Corona pandemic are over. It has brought a lot, but it has also taken a lot. We had our best school year and realized many dreams, including the new corporate identity, website and web application. But, we were also quickly pulled back to the ground in the next school year. This was our worst school year ever. I'm glad those times are over, because this school year feels pretty normal. And to be honest, I was also quite burned out at the beginning of the school year. I am glad I sought help with this from Vivas Gym and Skills Coaching Academy. In the meantime, I'm pretty much back to my old self!

The red thread.

I am regularly asked where Studied is headed. While I have plenty of wild plans, there is a common thread that we've been following since inception and that I'd like to continue to follow. After all, we are not a platform for tutoring, nor are we a local homework counselor with thirty students and a supervisor in a classroom. We just do our own thing by focusing on personal guidance. Over time, we have sometimes been an alternative to institutions like the Luzac called by customers. That is a great position that I would like to keep working at. Apart from the wild plans and the common thread for the organization, the development of our team will be important in the coming year. My studies will end in a year and I would like to gain experience in my tax law field, so it is time to make the company less dependent on me. That is why I would like to announce our new vacancies for 1) sales and marketing, 2) human resources and 3) business development. These are great side jobs for students who want to learn and gain hands-on experience during their studies. The students will work under my management, which I am personally looking forward to. Can I go back to teaching...

Interested in our new vacancies? Check www.studied.nl and get in touch with us!