Our Education Startups “Meet and Eat” is fast approaching and in the lead up to the event, we will be introducing some of the impressive companies that will be joining the dinner.

In the spotlight today is Tutor Fair and Samuel Floy.

What’s the elevator pitch for your startup?

Tutorfair is the “one for one” tutoring marketplace. It’s the easiest way to find the best tutors, and for every student who pays, we give tutoring to a child who can’t afford it.

What were you doing before you launched your startup?

The founding team of Tutorfair comprise of: ex-UK MD of LoveFilm (Andrew), education market specialist & entrepreneur (Edd), a ‘super-tutor’ who has tutored several Royal Families (Mark) and our CTO (Patrick) whose last company sold to Vodafone.

Where did you meet your co-founders?

I met them at a talk hosted by the New Entrepreneurs Foundation. Went for coffee the next day. The rest is history.

What’s your biggest ‘hindsight’ moment?

In hindsight we should have focussed on building the community elements faster. Tutoring is very lonely as a profession; there is no staff common room, no mentoring, no support, and few tutorial materials. Now we focus more on meetups for tutors, and connecting the community so everyone can support each other. This network and our one-for-one vision means that the best tutors from all over the world want to support us.

What will 2014 bring?

1000s more kids receiving free tuition through the Tutorfair Foundation. We’re growing fast, so 2014 will see lots more tutors and an even easier experience for parents.

1 piece of advice for someone starting a business in the education space?

There’s a great opportunity for technology to level the educational playing field, but it’s very difficult to sell into schools (in the UK at least). We’d say build something students and parents need, and sell direct to Mummies.

Convince someone to use your product/service in under 50 words.

We’re the only company doing online booking – letting us charge less than traditional tutoring agencies. Tutors are paid more and get to give back to society, so the best tutors in the world want to join. Online booking also provides the best data so we can measure what works and recommend the best tutors.

What’s your favourite startup in the education space (not including your own)?

Twig. Stunningly beautiful video content to augment teachers, and bring a wow factor to the start of science lessons. Love those guys.

What’s your favourite London restaurant?

School canteen at The Globe Academy. Always end up bumping into the Obamas there…

You can read the spot light on StepUp.io and its founder Makoto Inoue here. More spotlights will be coming next week.