Appifax is a Social, Learning & Management Platform for Schools and Educational Institutes.
The company ensures that in this pandemic, their product will come closest to experiencing schools from remote. Their current Version simplifies Learning and Management experience for Schools in a Social Media format. It helps students, teachers, parents and school administrative employees to remotely manage and track the progress of their respective tasks and responsibilities.
We interviewed Mr. Samrat Tarat and Mr. Deepak, co-founders of Appifax, to dive deeper into the company.
INVC: Could you tell us something about the founders? Also, how did you come together for this project?
Samrat: We ourselves had been students for over 20 years. Our early schooling days were pre-internet and smartphones. Our schools had very basic things on computers, things which can be achieved with Microsoft office. Then in college was the first time we encountered a proper software-based system but that was very basic and didn’t take care of anything more than our attendance and exam results. The dashboard was complicated with even emails used separately for communications.
That time I had contemplated if a software could be made to help better these archaic programs and even drive engagement of students with the same. A tool to not just help with the clerical and administrative work but something which could be student-facing and more interactive. At that time I didn’t have the proper experience nor the resources to do anything about it. But I could see how it could significantly aid the way we learn and experience schooling.
Although I primarily like to focus on achieving product-market fit and driving growth. But to help visualize my ideas I started to upskill, by learning product design and made a deep dive into it. The final and a big piece of the puzzle remained someone who could write code. That’s when I reached out to my college friend Deepak.
Deepak: We met in the college dorm room. Later on, we joined work and went on our different paths of gaining experience. After 7 long years, I get a text from Samrat. We immediately started discussing the idea and planning. In a week I had put in my papers and by next month I returned to India. We researched and surveyed a lot and came up with the first version of the product. More than a year later our product is already live and improving every day.
Appifax Website InterfaceINVC: How is your start-up different from other EdTech start-ups?
Samrat: We are building Facebook for Schools and Educational Institutes to optimise Learning, Networking and Management. Most companies in the edtech sector use 25-30% of the same software and technology with their primary focus being on e-tools for learning. However, we wanted to take a different approach by creating a social platform that is more engaging and has a higher adoption rate than our competitors.
We want students to experience education in a completely different manner, something which aids them in learning while increasing their exposure to opportunities. We think that a peer-driven content-based platform will help motivate students in learning more and strive to be better. Since based on user activity we will gain a lot of insights into the students, our recommendations will serve in providing not just exposure but directed motivation as well.
Deepak: We surveyed the market for almost 6 months before coming up with Appifax. Upon seeing the designs and taking internal demos of the products of more than 50 companies, we found that almost all these products had 2 limitations in common: complex designs and disengaging user experience. We got feedback from approximately 70-80 schools and found that educators & administrators had to force children to use these platforms.
For this reason, the utility of these softwares were restricted to basic tasks like online payment or handling back-end administrative tasks and were used only when mandatory. Appifax solves these issues by making the platform more interactive and educational. We want students to utilize their screen time effectively and learn while engaging on Appifax. We want Appifax to become the primary source for all their educational content needs while also a peer-reviewed discovery platform for all external education tools as well.
INVC: What are your future plans for Appifax?
Samrat: We plan on enhancing the platform further. There is a section on our platform called “Feeds” where study materials, assignments, notices, content sharing can be posted. Currently, it is open only to school management, but we are working to integrate & partner with third party content providers and publishers, to publish relevant materials for our student users.
Based on the Profile section of the student, which includes additional interests, hobbies, past experiences, as well as the user behaviour, we will provide them with personalized educational content to broaden their skills and thinking capabilities. Moreover, we plan to collaborate with online exam providers to conduct olympiads and skill-based tests to build students academically.
Deepak: To sum up, we want to create a highly interactive platform for schools and colleges who lack the technical ability to do so for themselves and be an aggregator of affordable learning material for students from all backgrounds of the country. This, as a result, would change how students learn by having a curated list of affordable or free educational content at their disposal. While also having the option to go for the premium learning platforms out there.
About the Founders
Co-founder, Samrat is a Mechanical Engineer. Prior to starting Appifax Samrat has worked in Startup ZoRooms directly under founders and core team, who have raised $30 MN and secured a successful exit after getting acquired by Softbank backed OYO rooms. Experienced in working with Demand and Business Development Strategy. Made a deep dive into product design and brought forth the Design Ideology of Appifax, serves as the CEO of the company with a primary focus on Growth.
Co-founder, Deepak graduated in Computer Applications. Deepak has experience working in large IT projects with MNCs like Wipro and Deloitte in India and Australia. Deepak is the Chief Technology Officer at Appifax.
Together, they bring a mix of both cultures – startups and corporate. This will help them set great culture as well as have discipline in the company.
This research article has been produced by Investocracy, a company focused on connecting startups from emerging markets with Japanese investors. Are you a startup looking for investment? Please reach out to us at contact@investocracy.co
