New Delhi, December 08: Edtech startup Filo’s one-on-one live instant tutoring app has been voted a favourite by users for Google Play’s Best of 2022 Awards. The Filo app is the winner in the “Best for Personal Growth” category, and Google Play was announced last week.
Google Play annually publishes its awards to recognize the best apps and games; said its users value e-learning platforms that offer precise solution content, live engagement sessions, and expert guidance. In the post-pandemic era, digital solutions for learning needs have become a norm.
E-learning remained in demand in 2022, according to Google Play. Filo CEO Imbesat Ahmad said his startup has been able to engage learners with high-quality one-on-one live classes that ensured interaction between the teachers and the students. With the use of an artificial intelligence-driven algorithm, the company’s proprietary technology matches students with expert tutors.
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“We provide a highly sophisticated solution. Filo matches a student who has asked a question about Thermodynamics with a tutor who is an expert in Thermodynamics,” Mr. Ahmad said, explaining how Filo's patented algorithm works. The company has technology patents in India and the United States.
“We brought in a personal touch by connecting an individual student to an individual tutor directly. And in doing so, we addressed an important issue concerning students. Typically, the students in both online and offline classrooms don’t ask questions due to hesitation, fear, or lack of confidence,” he said.
Filo was launched in November 2020 when students were attending their schools online from home, while edtech platforms also delivered live classes similar to schools.
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Mr. Ahmad, who is a Super 30 graduate, said the idea for his startup came from his own learnings and a decade-long teaching experience. His eureka moment came when he taught Class 12 students in Srinagar Physics.
He recalls that one fine morning in 2018, a student during his lecture agonisingly said, “I’m able to solve what you teach in class, but I feel helpless when I solve practice problems myself at home. I wish you could be there with me when I’m home.”
The Filo CEO said his startup is inspired by the “ethos of Super 30”, where teachers give undivided attention in all fairness. Mr. Ahmad, with his co-founders Rohit Kumar and Shadman Anwer, invented the company’s proprietary technology, which connects students with expert tutors instantly within 60 seconds.
“Keeping students like the one from Srinagar in mind, we envisioned our tech to aid students in their self-studies. Filo is a Greek word for friend. Only a friend never abandons you,” Mr. Ahmad said.
“My experiences as a teacher have left a deep impression on me. It made me realise that teachers have to be ‘that friend’ with their students,” he said.
Filo operates in 15 countries, services more than 100,000 learning sessions every day, and has a pool of 60,000 tutors, according to Mr. Ahmad.
