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Way back before...

Just like in any good story, the first chapter needs a cool intro before we jump in. We love good stories, so we'll follow the classics. Let's rewind a bit!

Before Optimate was even a thing, Oleh, our mastermind, was working on a fantastic product. People who used it would say it was super helpful and creative! We're talking about English Student – a set of flashcards on different topics to help you learn English and other languages way easier.

Check them out:

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 p.s. The author of this article actually used these flashcards to boost his English to a solid B2 level!

Why are we telling you about Oleh's past work? Because that's where the Optimate story kinda starts, but we'll get to that later.

Oleh created a super popular product that both students and teachers loved. After years of building English Student, he left his job in 2020 to explore new things. Since he studied finance, he dove headfirst into that world for about a year and a half.

Working in finance led him to a Ukrainian online school that used a Learning Management System (LMS) that made learning easy and organized. But it turns out, the world of LMS systems and other software for online schools was way more interesting and complex than it seemed!

This sparked Oleh's curiosity to learn more, not just about that specific system, but about the entire LMS market.

However, that idea got put on hold because he landed a new opportunity working with foreign finance companies. But then, things took a turn – the full-scale invasion in Ukraine. The job with the foreign companies fell through, and communication stopped completely. Needless to say, this whole situation was tough mentally.

Oleh says:

"It messed me up pretty bad. I had all these plans, and then everything just fell apart. I wasn't interested in finance consulting anymore."

It was during this time of reflection that the idea for his own all-in-one system for online schools really took off.

The Birth of Optimate: The “Why” Behind It

Oleh put together a dream team – a small group of enthusiasts who were excited to jump into something new and help grow Ukraine's tech scene. They were inspired by the system we mentioned earlier, but there was one big question: who built it?

Here's the thing: the system was Ukrainian, but it wasn't in Ukrainian! It was all in russian. So figuring out who made it wasn't exactly easy at first.

The team dug into the online school market, learning about all the problems schools were facing. Then, they started talking directly to online schools themselves.

They did three researches (a.k.a in-depth interviews):

• with students of online schools.
• with the admins who handle the day-to-day operations.
• with the school owners.

What were they hoping to learn?

Basically, the state of the software options out there and the biggest pain points.

Once they reviewed the interviews, Oleh shared his insight:

"We learned that while an LMS is nice-to-have but not must-have".

The team discovered a different set of issues: the existing systems were okay, but what about finances? Tracking finances, paying salaries, keeping tabs on payments, sending invoices – all this was still done separately, in messy Excel spreadsheets. That's where the real pain was.

(Remember, Oleh's always been a whiz with finances. This is where his skills came in handy!)

The schools said combining their current systems with a system to manage their finances would be a game-changer. But money wasn't the only problem. Students often had trouble booking lessons without contacting the admin. After all, the customer is always right!

Alright, so they figured out the main problems, knew what they wanted to build, and everyone was fired up. Time to get to work! The team brainstormed ideas and then did a design sprint. A week of intense (and sometimes sleepless) work produced a technical prototype of their product. Later, they brought on a designer to create the first mockups.

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Things were going great, everything was clicking and moving fast. The team felt like they were on the right track.

The market was flooded with russian software.

"As we talked to more schools and got our first users, we learned a surprising fact: there were four different russian software options out there!"

That was quite a shocker! Remember, this was all happening during the full-scale invasion. russian software and a war at home? Definitely not a good fit.

After this discovery, the team became even more determined to release their product. It wasn't just about creating something cool and finding a niche in the market anymore. Now, it was also a matter of principle.

The team wanted to build a strong competitor, a Ukrainian software that was so good, everyone would forget about the russian stuff. 

(don't confuse this with russian-language software we mentioned earlier).

A question you might have: "Why weren't Ukrainian online schools ditching the russian software already?"

The answer was simple: there weren't any good Ukrainian systems out there. No Ukrainian-language options that actually worked well.

It was like a gap in the market. Schools couldn't use Ukrainian software because it just wasn't available. But sticking with the russian stuff wasn't an option either. It would basically shut their businesses down.

Surprise-surprise!

We mentioned there weren't any Ukrainian systems. Well, kind of. The team actually found one single Ukrainian option that seemed to be doing okay. But when they tried to contact them, they found out it was about to shut down!

Thankfully, that project ended up getting sold and is still going strong today.

Optimate is born and finds its first fans!

After talking to 15 different schools, the team picked their first 10 early adopters for Optimate. These schools used the system and gave the team feedback, which helped them make it even better.

June 21st, 2023, is Optimate's official birthday!

Sure, it was pretty basic at first, maybe even a little rough around the edges. But hey, it worked! It did what it was supposed to do and solved the problems the team set out to solve.

So, how's Optimate doing now, in 2024?

It's still growing and getting better all the time. At this rate, an official launch isn't far off!

The Ideas Behind Optimate

Our beta testers called Optimate a CRM-system. But it was actually so much more. We're talking CRM, ERP, and even a little LMS all rolled into one. So, what's the big idea with Optimate? What makes it special?

Oleh explains it this way:

"We're not just building a product with a bunch of functions. We're building a virtual assistant for your school. This assistant helps you not only run your day-to-day stuff, but also see where things are going well, where you can improve, and where things might be slowing down. The goal is to help schools react faster to changes, instead of waiting until the end of the month to figure things out. This means a smoother operation and more money in the bank!"

The core idea behind Optimate is to help schools streamline everything they do, from teaching to finances and everything in between. It's all about making it easier and more enjoyable for schools to do what they love.

And guess what? It's working! We're really proud of how Optimate has turned out.

Remember the Pareto rule?

“20% of the effort gets you 80% of the results.”

Optimate is your 20% effort. It helps you achieve 80% of the results with a smoother operation and more profit.

Stay tuned for more!

Take care!