My Private Professor

What My Private Professor does

My Private Professor is a privately held online tutoring marketplace founded in 2019 by Sona Shah, a UC Berkeley School of Law graduate and former business litigation attorney, and headquartered in Irvine, California. The company operates an impact-driven platform that connects families, employers, schools, and nonprofits with a vetted network of background-checked independent contractor tutors for personalized 1-on-1 online academic support across all K-12 subjects and beyond, including test prep, college essay coaching, adult learner courses, GED preparation, and resume building. The technical stack centers on a Wise-powered scheduling and session management environment (hosted at my-private-professor.us.wise.live) integrated with Zoom for live session delivery, with proprietary processes around tutor vetting, matching, and concierge support, as well as optional session recording, transcription, and analysis for quality assurance and dispute resolution.

MPP generates revenue primarily through marketplace commissions on tutor-set session fees, supplemented by subscription-style employer benefit contracts (custom-designed programs priced annually with concierge administrative support), transaction-based nonprofit and school partnerships at subsidized rates, and a freemium acquisition motion offering new clients a complimentary first session of up to 60 minutes. Distribution is multi-channel: direct-to-consumer self-serve via the website, enterprise sales to employer HR/benefits teams (with named customers including Southwest Airlines, Chugh LLP, MSI, and OneDigital), and institutional partnerships with schools and nonprofits (including Illumination Foundation, SAHARA, Pratham USA, Orangewood Foundation, and Boys & Girls Clubs of Long Beach). The company has no disclosed outside funding, operates without institutional investors, and maintains a wholly owned 501(c)(3) charitable arm—My Private Professor Foundation—that receives 10% of net marketplace proceeds to fund free tutoring for students experiencing homelessness and housing instability.

Name

My Private Professor

Legal name

My Private Professor, LLC

Website

https://myprivateprofessor.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

My Private Professor is an Irvine, California-based online tutoring marketplace, founded in 2019 by Sona Shah, that connects vetted independent contractor tutors with families, employers, schools, and nonprofits for 1-on-1 online academic support across K-12 and beyond, monetizing via marketplace commissions, employer benefit subscriptions, and nonprofit partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online Tutoring Marketplace

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171), Exam Preparation and Tutoring (611691)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Tutoring & Homework Help Marketplaces (On-Demand) (EDAFAIAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

On-Demand 1:1 Live Tutoring Marketplaces (EDANAGAA), K–12 Core Curriculum Small-Group Tutoring Centers (Math/ELA/Science/Social Studies) (EDANAHAA), Homework Tutoring & Academic Support (Subject Tutoring) (HSAAAHAC)

Keywords

• Online tutoring marketplace
• K-12 academic support
• Employer tutoring benefits
• School supplemental tutoring
• Nonprofit tutoring partnerships

Headquarters

HQ city

Irvine

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Marketplace Tutoring Services: The company operates a marketplace connecting clients with independent contractor tutors. Revenue is generated from tutoring session fees. Tutors are paid on a weekly basis for completed billable tutoring time recorded in the Platform.
2. Employer Benefit Programs: MPP partners with employers to offer tutoring access as an employee benefit. Employers receive custom program design aligned with their goals, eligible populations, and budget parameters, with administrative support for rollout and coordination.
3. Nonprofit and School Partnerships: MPP provides subsidized tutoring rates for nonprofits and schools, with turn-key programs and pilot options available. A portion of net proceeds from marketplace activity supports My Private Professor Foundation for free tutoring to underserved students.
4. Freemium First Session: New clients receive one complimentary tutoring session of up to sixty minutes in any K-12 subject (college essay preparation excluded). This serves as a customer acquisition tool.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

My Private Professor operates an impact-driven online tutoring marketplace that connects families, employers, schools, and nonprofits with vetted, background-checked independent contractor tutors for personalized 1-on-1 online tutoring across K-12 subjects and beyond. Tutoring sessions are scheduled and managed through a Wise-powered platform and delivered via Zoom, with concierge matching, scheduling support, and quality assurance throughout the engagement.

Product overview

My Private Professor operates as an impact-driven academic support marketplace connecting families, employers, schools, and nonprofits with vetted independent contractor tutors for personalized 1-on-1 online tutoring. The core offering consists of the Expert Tutoring marketplace for individual clients, supplemented by specialized vertical products: Employer Tutoring Benefit for corporate workforce benefits, School Tutoring Partnership for educational institutions, and Nonprofit Tutoring Partnership for wraparound social services. The platform also includes a Tutor Marketplace for recruiting educators, the Tutoring Sponsorship Model for corporate social responsibility initiatives, a College Ambassador Program supporting Pratham partnerships, and a New Client Free Trial promotional offer. All sessions are conducted via the Wise-powered scheduling platform and Zoom video conferencing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Expert Tutoring Personalized academic support through a concierge-supported online marketplace connecting families and individuals with vetted, background-checked independent contractor tutors for 1-on-1 online tutoring tailored to student goals, learning style, and schedule, across all K-12 subjects and beyond.
• Employer Tutoring Benefit Concierge-supported marketplace of vetted tutors offered to employers as a meaningful employee benefit, with custom program design aligned to employer goals, eligible populations, and budget parameters, plus administrative support and optional employee interest surveys for rollout.
• School Tutoring Partnership Partnership product offering schools a national network of background-checked tutors to deliver 1-on-1 online tutoring as a supplemental academic resource, with turn-key administration and pilot programs available.
• Nonprofit Tutoring Partnership Partnership product offering nonprofits high-quality, personalized tutoring as a key component of wraparound academic support services for school-aged youth they serve, with subsidized rates, turn-key administration, and pilot options.
• Tutor Marketplace (Tutor Recruitment Platform) Marketplace platform component that recruits experienced educators, subject-matter experts, and academic mentors to serve as independent contractor tutors on the My Private Professor network, supporting supply-side scaling across all client segments.
• Tutoring Sponsorship Model Corporate social responsibility initiative that allows businesses and organizations to sponsor tutoring hours for students experiencing homelessness and in long-term foster care, delivered through My Private Professor Foundation.
• College Ambassador Program (CAP) Program allowing eligible college students to serve as My Private Professor school ambassadors, donate tutoring earnings to Pratham USA, and support educational access for students in India while gaining tutoring experience.

Quantifiable outcome

• High-dosage tutoring increases students' learning by an additional 3 to 15 months across grade levels
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Orangewood FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Community partner organization serving Orange County youth.
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Long BeachminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Community organization partner supporting youth academic programs in Long Beach area.
• Southwest AirlinescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 October 2023Major employer partner offering MPP tutoring access as an employee benefit. Partnership announced October 2023.
• SAHARAcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2023MPP provides free weekly tutoring for students residing in SAHARA's transitional living homes. Partnership began July 2023. SAHARA has also provided sponsored MPP tutoring to youth in their long-term housing programs. SAHARA serves survivors of abuse in the South Asian community in Southern California.
• Illumination FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023MPP provides free weekly tutoring for students residing in Illumination Foundation's emergency shelters. Partnership began January 2023. Also helped IHH create an Education Services tier allowing clients in housing programs to receive sponsored MPP tutoring. Addresses students experiencing homelessness in Southern California.
• OneDigitalcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2023Benefits consultant partner offering MPP tutoring as part of employee benefits packages. Employees receive free 1-hour tutoring sessions.
• Chugh LLPcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 July 2022Full-service law and tax firm with offices in California, New Jersey, New York, Virginia, Georgia, Washington, and India. As of March 1, 2022, all Chugh employees have access to free and discounted 1-on-1 online tutoring in any K-12 subject.
• Pratham USAminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2022College Ambassador Program (CAP) where eligible students can donate up to 100% of their tutoring earnings to support Pratham and students in India. MPP donates 10% of net proceeds from CAP tutoring hours. Partnership launched June 2022.
• MSIcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 March 2021MSI (surfaces company) partners with MPP to launch nationwide academic support program for employees. Partnership announced March 2021.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Tutor.com: Established online tutoring service with strong penetration in school and library contracts and 24/7 on-demand 1:1 tutoring. Comparable to MPP in K-12 and school-district motion but operates at much larger institutional scale.
• Khan Academy (with Khanmigo): Mission-driven free learning platform now offering AI tutoring (Khanmigo). Most direct comparable on the impact-driven, school-segment thesis and the strongest threat on the AI-tutoring substitution risk to MPP's 1:1 value proposition.
• Varsity Tutors (Nerdy): Large, venture-backed online tutoring and test prep platform serving families, schools, and enterprise. Overlaps with MPP across all four of MPP's segments but at significantly greater scale and with institutional sales muscle.
• Brainfuse: Online tutoring and homework help provider primarily serving schools, libraries, and workforce agencies. Comparable to MPP's School Tutoring Partnership product, particularly the high-dosage tutoring positioning MPP markets.

Direct peers

• Wyzant: Long-standing online tutoring marketplace connecting students with vetted independent tutors across K-12 and beyond. Closest direct comparable on business model (marketplace commission, independent contractors, PLG acquisition) to MPP's Expert Tutoring product.
• Skooli: Online 1:1 tutoring marketplace targeting K-12 and college students with certified tutors and a pay-as-you-go model. Closely matches MPP's consumer 1:1 tutoring offering and online session delivery model.
• Preply: Global online tutor marketplace with strong language-learning focus but growing academic subject coverage. Comparable marketplace model, independent contractor tutor base, and freemium/trial acquisition — direct competitor for individual-family demand.
• Outschool: Online marketplace for live small-group classes and tutoring across academic and enrichment subjects. Overlaps with MPP on the marketplace model, vetted independent educator network, and family/individual customer segment.
• Revolution Prep: Online and in-person tutoring and test prep provider serving families, schools, and districts with 1:1 and group formats. Comparable across MPP's family and school segments, particularly around SAT/ACT prep and academic enrichment.

Others

• ClassDojo: Communication and learning platform used by K-12 teachers and parents. Adjacent rather than directly competitive, but relevant ecosystem participant for MPP's school-partnership distribution channel.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/myprivateprofessor
• Pinterestpinterest.com/myprivateprofessor
• Xx.com/MyPrivateProf

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about My Private Professor