Video by Program Directors Kiley Wecker, Marisa Thakady and Alana Rood.

By Aisha Espinosa
Staff Writer
@aishaespinosa1

When Daniel Gonzalez and Harrison Haas met, they had no idea that a simple desire for a job would lead to owning a company. Both seniors at Coppell High School, Gonzalez and Haas have taken a new spin on tutoring.

The idea evolved when Gonzalez and Haas were discussing possible jobs. When Haas expressed an interest in tutoring for a company like Gideon or Kumon, Gonzales suggested something else.

“I said ‘why not just make one?’” Gonzales said. “I used to live in Florida, and I used to tutor for a company that was pretty similar.”

The pair took the idea and ran with it, eventually creating TutorMe Texas, a student-run tutoring company that caters to the Coppell/Valley Ranch/Grapevine area. The name was designed to be short, and memorable.

“I’ve heard the businesses work if they have a simple name,” Haas said. “Texas is for local, and TutorMe is for the service provided. It’s easy to remember.”

Gonzalez and Haas have been running their company for four months, and have 15 student tutors, consisting of juniors and seniors at CHS. To become a tutor for the company, students must go through a rigorous interview and application process, and list standardized testing scores and their grade point average.

“Basically, they have to be well-rounded people who aren’t just going to be there sitting down and showing you how to do a problem,” Gonzalez said. “They have to make sure you understand it make sure you know what you’re doing and make you feel like you’re going to be successful in your studies.”

In addition to a good academic record, Haas said that they also have to be social, beyond the skills it takes to teach another student how to write a passage or how to solve a statistics problem. They match tutors to students based on subjects.

“It’s really cool because it’s all really flexible,” CHS senior tutor Giselle Peng said. “It’s up to you to decide when you’re doing it, and it’s pretty independent on the tutor’s part. And you get paid pretty well.”

One tutoring session costs between $25 and $45, depending on the length of the session. Students have a choice between recurring one hour, one and a half hour, and two hour sessions. Individual sessions can be booked, but an additional fee of $3 will be charged.

Though Haas and Gonzalez are seniors, they are planning to continue their company beyond high school graduation. Depending on which colleges they attend, the two have to figure out new system of management.

“We’re planning on not willing it down, but having a junior now that works with us maybe take over the managership for a while, or maybe figure out a way to manage it from college,” Haas said. “There is plan to continue, but we’re just not sure how yet.”

For now, the two seniors are focusing on balancing business management and the workload with senior year. The most important thing they have to do is divide time.

“Sometimes that means not being able to study for a test, because you have to answer phone calls or schedule something,” Gonzalez said. “Once you get used to it, you kind of know how to divide your time, because you want to see your company grow and be successful.”