How teaching astronomy at virtual Hogwarts made Iman Usman an entrepreneur

Ruangguru’s office isn’t easy to spot. It’s in a residential part of Jakarta, and inside a non-descript, Ruko-style building – the kind of narrow, three-story house that is typical for small businesses in Indonesia.

Ruangguru’s office in Tebet, South Jakarta (yellow house, center), is wedged between a travel agent and a telecom shop.

Despite recently securing a 7-digit series A round, the startup’s office is modest. With a staff of about 60, it’s already bursting at the seams.

The company’s 24-year old co-founder and CEO Iman Usman founded Ruangguru in 2013 together with his best friend, Belva Devara. Now the edtech startup is one out of just a handful in this vertical in Southeast Asia to have reached series A stage. It has a fair shot at becoming a household name in Indonesia this year, and it has regional ambitions.

Three factors seem to be working in this startup’s favor: a big market, the right investors, and extraordinary founders.

Searching for a tutor, ending up with a business idea

Iman Usman, co-founder and CEO of Ruangguru, just turned 24.

Iman offers a simple version of how he and Belva started Ruangguru. They both had the opportunity to go to grad school in the US. To help them prepare, they tried to find a suitable private tutor online. In the process they discovered the market was scattered and inefficient.

There were only few registered tutoring institutions in Indonesia, and the top three had roughly 200,000 to 300,000 enrolled students – whereas Iman knew that Indonesia as a whole has 60 million children and teens attending school. It sounded like there was a large, untapped market to capture.

So the idea was born to build a marketplace for tutors. It would simplify matchmaking between student and tutor, make the process more transparent through ratings and reports, and streamline the payment procedure.

Then, there’s the long story behind how Iman ended up leading an edtech startup. He wasn’t just born into this entrepreneurship role. It’s a story worth telling because it reminds parents and aspiring entrepreneurs that inspiration can come from the silliest places.

A touch of magic

Iman was by any measure a special kid. He started blogging in elementary school. At age 10, he launched his first non-profit organization (tutoring peers for free). By the time he got into junior high, he ran his first online business.

Supplementing public education

Ruangguru’s business model

Beyond the marketplace

Venturra’s investment