Former Gekombineerde Skool Noorderlig learner Aaron Bornmann turned his side hustle during his university days into an award-winning business.
Bornmann and partner Joseph Nyamariwata accepted the award for the most innovative start-up on the continent at the Africarena Awards recently.
As a university student, Bornmann needed to find alternative ways to make extra money. With his love for teaching and his knowledge of the subjects he was studying, it was fitting for him to tutor students who were struggling.
After years of hard work with no funding from external sources, 123tutors was established in 2017 as an online platform that connects learners with tutors from across the country.
The company started with a handful of tutors and now has over 4 000 tutors on call, catering for primary and high school learners and university students.
During lockdown, the business had grown even more, as universities saw the need for online tutors and made use of their services.
His biggest break was in October 2020 when the business had to find tutors for 500 university students in three weeks.
Bornmann has since moved from Benoni but is grateful for his humble beginnings that had led to such success.
When asked what the secret to his success was, he said he saw a problem and wanted to fix it.
He added that in business, you have to put the customers first.
“The priority is making the process easy for the company. You will make mistakes, but think big and globally,” he said.
The company has an office based in Johannesburg but hopes to open another branch in Cape Town.
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