Marco Van Sterkenburg, Beeleever & CEO of Drillster, an adaptive educative platform, shares with us key stages of his development.
1: Like Maths: Find Solution To A Problem
Drillster’s goal is to help customers develop their knowledge quicker, and improve their memory. Our starting point was when we figured out that the traditional educative system did not aim at building a long-term retention of knowledge. However, in lots of professional activities, there is a real need for acquired, complete and up-to-date expertise. For example, airplane pilots as well as emergency doctors do not have the possibility to search for information in the moment of need. And yet - they need to know to react immediately.
2: Make The Solution More Fun Than Maths
Then, in order to answer that need for crucial, permanent knowledge, we decided to create an adaptive learning app. It has a unique algorithm that tests and analyzes what knowledge the customer already masters and what not, before offering him/her, direct and immediate feedback from which he/she can learn. Then Drillster repeats learning material over time to verify if the learner has improved the knowledge or awareness. This way knowledge is anchored in at least 40% shorter study time and retains much longer.
The most innovative aspect of our application is the fact that Drillster can calculate how and when knowledge declines if not maintained. For this we use predictive analytics based on scientific research. When the algorithm reveals a decline in knowledge, a notification is sent to the user to encourage him/her, to come back to the app and brush up on the knowledge. This mechanism ensures that knowledge is always top-of-mind and complete (permanent education)
3: Meet the Humans And Build A Friendly Network
Having a good business network is vital, particularly in my case. Actually, our service is not easy to understand: when someone is looking for an educational training (s)he, spontaneously chooses a traditional provider. Thus, our professional or other external contacts are very helpful in our development. It is thanks to this communication, through existing customers, peers and various events, that we are able to make our company more visible.
4: Grow Your Business, Discover New Places
Our internationalization has been a logic response to the demand. In lots of companies, there are external evaluations of the procedure for the training of the staff. In this way, our domestic customers, especially big finance, energy, retail and aviation companies, have affiliates abroad and international providers. Implementing our company in these targeted countries was wise and necessary. As our clients are mainly located in France, Belgium, the USA but also in Brazil, we made our app available in 7 languages.
A network for entrepreneurs like Beeleev is a great platform. Launching a business is never easy, and we often think that we would have done some things differently if we were to start over. So sharing experience as well as evolving with your peers allow everyone to learn from this adventure. Having a network helps you figuring out how to extend your business internationally, which is more challenging and riskier when you are by yourself. Through Beeleev, I am able to get in touch with other entrepreneurs, in the markets I target. And to be honest, I would be glad to help entrepreneurs who want to conquer the Netherlands.
