ALL-IN-ONE STUDY PLATFORM

Studying. For some, it comes naturally, while for others, it’s a struggle. These two groups can help each other out with peer-to-peer tutoring, but students don’t always know how to find each other. In comes TutorMe, an online study platform that not only provides peer-to-peer tutoring, but also additional study materials like practice exams and flashcards. Marius Inselseth and Robert Grgac started the platform from their own needs and ended up helping hundreds of students along the way. 

Tutoring has become commonplace in education. Between 2017 and 2022 alone, the amount of money Dutch households spent on tutoring almost doubled. For students, the expenses can be rather high. Combined with higher tuition fees and stricter rules to prevent long-term studying, it gives students additional stress in an already uncertain world. “We want to alleviate the stress,” says Marius. “Many students struggle with their mental health and have a hard time managing their studies. Some platforms offer private tutoring, but those are too expensive for most, and planning an appointment is a hassle. Other platforms offer study materials such as summaries, but they’re quite generic. Our practice exams, summaries, and flashcards are based on the courses of the specific universities, and you can book a tutor as easily as making an appointment for the hairdresser. Essentially, we give students a roadmap to studying.” 

Budget cuts

Robert used to be a teaching assistant at the University of Twente for one of his courses. “We used to have a team of roughly ten teaching assistants, but after the budget cuts, it was only one other person and me,” Robert recalls. “At one point, there was a whole queue of questions waiting to be answered, and I had my own homework as well.” Robert decided to tutor on the side and have a few friends help him out. “The first version of TutorMe was essentially a group chat I made with other teaching assistants so they could easily connect. After a while, I asked Marius if he could build a website so I could direct all questions there. That’s how it all started.”

Practice exams

Marius was one of the students Robert was tutoring. With a team that knows the needs of both the student and the tutor, TutorMe was able to grow to a platform offering more than peer-to-peer tutoring. “I was struggling in my studies,” Marius shares. “The reality was rather simple: either I pass the exam and stay, or I fail, and I have to leave the country. For me, practising exams was very valuable, which is why we added the practice exams to our platform. If you know what your test could look like and you’ve practiced it a couple of times, you go into the exam with more confidence. When a student comes up to us and tells us they passed their exam thanks to TutorMe, that’s the biggest reward we can get.” 

Community

The platform is developed by students, for students. Once they decided to grow the platform, they went to Novel-T. Robert: “I have had startup ideas before, so I simply texted Lars. Since we already had a problem-solution fit, we were able to join the ADVANCED Program. The most valuable thing we got out of it was the community that helped us with all kinds of connections. The other founders gave us great advice. Seeing everyone building their startup is motivating, because you’re part of a community of which you want everyone to succeed.” In 2025, the team took home the Audience Award in the UT Challenge (now The Entrepreneurial Experience). Marius: “That proved to us that students wanted something like TutorMe. By the time we launched our pilot, 600 people signed up, which was another sign that there was a clear need for the platform.”

The bridge to systemic change

While the need in the present is clear, the future is still uncertain. “Who knows what changes AI will bring?” Robert says. “Either way, we would love to see the platform spread out across Europe and help as many students as we can. As technology progresses, we will adapt to it, but the students will always come first.” So where are the teachers in this story? Marius: “There are roughly two types of teachers: the ones who are mostly passionate about their subject, and the ones who love being around students and want to help them. The first group is less excited about our solution, because they fear students won’t learn enough. However, the educational system has been the same for decades and is designed in such a way that you have to pass your exams. All while the current generation of students has different learning needs than those of twenty years ago. There’s a gap that needs to be fixed through systemic changes, but until that time, TutorMe is the bridge for students on their way to their diploma.”