Friends — and an entrepreneurial couple that gained notoriety after becoming 29-year-old millionaires from five-figure salaries — launched a tutoring startup with a goal of reaching profitability in months.
The platform is called CramBetter, and it was created by University of Florida alumni and friends Marty Parks, Steven Keys and Lauren Keys in 2023. The platform is a membership-based tutoring program for college math and science classes that focuses on preparing students for the course tests.
After one semester of customer outreach at the University of South Florida and the University of Central Florida, the program has met its initial goal and is making profits from student subscriptions.
Co-founders Parks and Steven Keys have been tutors for more than a decade and met while working at a local tutoring company. They both, among other reasons, dreamt of being their own bosses. Steven Keys also experienced firsthand — by completing parts of a Ph.D. program and years of physics courses — how professors often don't prioritize helping students achieve high grades, he told Tampa Bay Inno.
"I always had this idea in the back of my mind of what would happen if I tried to make this into a business for myself, could I scale and grow it way beyond what I could make working for somebody," Steven Keys said.
So the trio founded and launched CramBetter for students wanting extra help with coursework. Residing in St. Augustine, Steven Keys manages the business and makes tutoring content, while Lauren Keys is the marketing director. Parks, who lives in South America, makes a significant portion of the videos, study guides and practice exam questions that comprise CramBetter and are available for $40 a month for a course.
"Our first semester was all about proof of concept, making sure that there is demand for the product and that student response is good," Steven Keys said.
After less than a year online, the app has brought in more revenue than the original total investment of $6,000 used to launch the business. It took no outside investors and had no debt. And with the eight courses it has had available for around three months, more than 100 customers have used the app, and it has received renewed subscriptions and good reviews on the product, Steven Keys said.
Now, the team plans to build up the digital presence and market the platform to more schools, starting with Florida and the Southeast. It's "pouring gasoline" on the business to ignite and expand it, he said.
The app's value-driven strategy stems, in part, from the Keys' entrepreneurial focus and frugality.
Pursuing their dreams
The Keys, Tampa Bay natives, are high school sweethearts — they met in homeroom while attending Lithia's Newsome High School. They've been together since, attending the University of Florida while planning out their early career and finances together.
After graduating together, Steven worked as a teacher and tutor, and Lauren worked as a multimedia journalist and communication manager. That is until they retired and traveled the world on their savings. The St. Augustine-located couple had been saving 80% of their income for years, and they documented the financial journey along the way through a personal blog called Trip of a Lifestyle. They currently have more than 90,000 total followers across their social media accounts.
Their pursuits were covered by several news outlets, such as BuzzFeed, Business Insider and CNBC.
The still active passion project shows their interest in educating, and the blog's proceeds from branding or affiliate links go to charity, according to the website. While the frugality and financial security allowed them to retire early and travel — they're currently planning their next trip — it also allowed them to pursue Steven Key's longtime interest in entrepreneurship debt-free and risk-free.
"I finally get to answer those what-ifs of my life," Steven Keys said. "There's some unanswered questions and CramBetter is going to let me answer those questions and try something I've always wanted to do."
