We're thinking of setting up an online learning platform for middle schoolers — is this investment right for us?

If you go with a ready-made platform, nail down these three things from day one: 1) Factor in per-user licensing costs if you use third-party meeting tools for live classes. 2) Set up automated weekly practice exam analysis reports for parents. 3) Make sure you have encrypted streaming support so question solution videos can't be downloaded.

Edit: asked below, I wrote the answer in the second message.

We made the mistake of going custom two years ago for our 180-student center. Paid 190,000 TL, launch was delayed six months, and the server crashed during our very first live mock exam. We switched to an open-source system after that; our annual server and maintenance costs have stayed steady at around 28,000 TL.

Data for middle-school-aged children requires high sensitivity under legal guardianship. Verifying the identity of the parent during explicit consent is your primary legal obligation as the data controller.

custom software is a total money pit dont even bother. anyway just deploy an open source lms get a clean theme and rent a separate video hosting service works like a charm both kids and parents will be happy.

edit: fixed a few typos.

Are you planning to host live classes on your own server or hook into external video conferencing services? Because handling 240 concurrent video streams on custom software requires serious bandwidth and optimization.

Definitely stay away from building from scratch. Rent a server, hire a professional freelancer to set up an open-source LMS for around 30,000 TL. Put the rest of your budget toward quality test questions and video recording gear.

Most parents never actually log into the portal to check detailed reports anyway. They just want to know if their kid attended class and what their test scores were. A simple automated text notification system might honestly be all you need instead of complex custom dashboards.

Don't want to discourage you, a hybrid model is definitely the right move. But the number one thing parents complain about is tech support hiccups. More than the platform itself, scheduling a dedicated staff member to handle phone support for parents during the first month will save you a ton of headaches.

You're right.

This is exactly what we experienced. If it's your first time, start small; scaling comes later.

Just leaving this note, it might be useful.

If I understood correctly, you're saying: Measure first, then divide. When the order is right, the debate ends.

Lets separate the concepts, theyre getting mixed up. Splitting your budget without knowing where youre losing users is just throwing money in the dark.

That's all sorry if I went on too long.

If I understood correctly, you're saying: If it's your first time start small; scaling comes later.

That's all, sorry if I went on too long.

I was thinking the same thing. Calculate how many months you can survive without revenue, then halve that number.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

This thread is archived. Calculate how many months you can survive without revenue, then halve that number.

Good luck with that.

I have a question, don't want to go off-topic though. A small market isn't bad; working cheaply in a small market is.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

Good call starting this thread.

Yes, that's exactly how it is with online learning platform middle school. The real issue isn't the number, but what it's based on.

I'm also curious if anyone does it differently.