OpenProf – Helping Students Get Better Grades

OpenProf.com is a crowd-sourced online textbook created by a community of teachers for (high school) students. OpenProf leads to success on exams by connecting theory with practice. Their secret ingredient is that problems are explained in detail through step-by-step solutions.

Schools offer theory, but exams require practical knowledge to solve different problems and that’s where a lot of students encounter difficulties. OpenProf provides detailed instructions and examples on how to solve certain problems in Math, Chemistry, Physics and even languages like English and German. The platform was designed, as your personal teacher, who is always there when you need it and guides you through the problem. If you are still having trouble, you can turn to their community of teachers, instructors and schoolmates, who can help you out.

We spoke to Matej Posinković, CEO of Openprof to tell us a bit more about what went into developing their platform and making it into a known name among students, teachers, and parents.

Q: What has inspired you to start the company?

Since I was a teenager I was always attracted by knowledge, especially physics and philosophy. However, the books I’ve been reading almost always left a bitter taste in my mouth as I found them not intuitive, descriptive or explanatory enough. I always intuitively believed that knowledge and concepts are simple, but just badly presented. As a physics student, I discovered a set of problems with step-by-step solutions. Those problems and their solutions helped me to become one of the best students for that subject in a class – which really impressed me. The idea of OpenProf evolved gradually. I started an experimental site and only after a great market response I felt confident enough to start such an important and difficult project.

Q: What gets you out of bed in the morning?

My alarm clock. But within the contest, a more precise question would be “Who gets you out of the bed in the morning?”. The answer is: my kids. Education is a basis for children’s future life, the basis of our civilization. Helping kids by offering free, qualitative, intuitive and simply explained knowledge is one of the most satisfying feelings I know. Of course, there’s a lot of work in front of us, but I believe we are on the right path.

Q: What are your biggest challenges at the moment?

We are currently mainly focused on development of OpenProf in Slovenia, where we are working hard to confirm all the key parts of the OpenProf concept. Only after that we’ll be able to take this wonderful project and bring it to every kid on this planet.

Q: If your startup was an animal, what would it be and why?

Barbapapa. A fiction cartoon character that can adapt to any situation and intelligently and gently solves any problem it confronts. The character is curious, likes to learn and is open to the world.