Helping Students Connect Before Exam Day
Hi everyone! I'm Keerthivasan, a full-stack developer from India. I built ExamBuddy, a platform that helps competitive exam candidates connect with others traveling to the same exam center. The idea came from seeing students struggle to travel alone to unfamiliar cities, coordinate with others, and find reliable travel companions. ExamBuddy aims to make those journeys safer, easier, and less stressful through location-based matching and in-app chat. The app is already live on the Indus Appstore, and I'm now focused on improving the user experience and growing the community. I'd love feedback on the product, onboarding, and features that would make it more valuable for students.
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Comments (16)
Welcome Keerthivasan! That's a very specific problem you are solving. Curious, how are you getting the word out to students? That's a very seasonal audience that probably spikes around exam dates.
"Thanks! That's a great question. ExamBuddy is already production-ready and live on the Indus Appstore. Right now, my focus is on growing awareness and reaching the right audience. I'm currently promoting it through Product Hunt, the Indus Appstore, and founder communities like SaaS Hive. My next step is to reach students directly through college communities, social media, and partnerships with coaching institutes, especially around major exam seasons when demand is highest."
That's a smart plan, reaching your audience where they already are. Have you thought about reaching out to exam centers directly? They could include ExamBuddy in their recommendation list for students. And I checked the app, the UI is simple and clear. I think that's exactly right when the app is a matchmaker and the main action happens outside of it. No need to overcomplicate it.
Welcome to the community, Keerthivasan 🙋🏻♂️
thank you Mr Sergey Kargoplov
Welcome, Keerthivasan. Location based matching for something as specific as exam day travel is a smart niche, that kind of trust matters more when you are heading somewhere unfamiliar and stressed about a test. Olga's point about exam centers is a good one. Partnering with coaching institutes before exam season sounds like it could work even better than general social reach, since that is exactly where the anxious, ready to plan students already are.
Thanks so much, this really means a lot! You're right that trust is the core of the whole thing, exam day is already stressful enough without wondering if the person you're meeting up with is legit.
Olga's point about exam centers and the coaching institute angle really clicked for me too. Institutes already have students clustered by exam and often by target city, and there's a natural trust anchor if someone comes through their own coaching center rather than a cold app download. I think partnering with a few institutes before exam season could work a lot better than general social reach, since that's exactly where the anxious, ready-to-plan students already are.
I'm going to look into what a pilot partnership with one or two institutes could look like. Would love to hear if either of you have thoughts on how to approach that first conversation with them, or if you know anyone in that space.
Keerthivasan, regarding your request for a feedback. Starting from today, there is a centralized please to ask for a feedback on SaaS Hive. It is called "Feedback Exchange". If you would like to request feedback on your product have a look at this page here: https://saashive.com/founder-community/request-feedback
Keerthivasan, for that first conversation I would lead with exam center staff rather than the institute owner, since they are the ones fielding anxious calls from students and parents every season. A short pilot offer, free access for one exam cycle in exchange for being listed as a recommended tool, gives them a low risk yes. Once one institute has a full season of real usage behind it, that becomes the proof the next institute actually wants to see instead of a cold pitch.
Thats good idea Iam Try To Implement It
Keerthivasan, glad the institute idea landed well. I gave real thought to your exam center problem because it was genuinely interesting, not because it was expected of me. Since you said that meant a lot, I want to ask for something back. I am building FounderFlow, an AI Executive Chief of Staff that watches a founder's business, flags what matters, and tells them what to do next. I would value your honest read on it, the same kind of honest read I tried to give you. Would you be open to a quick look this week?
Happy to take a look! Quick question before I dive in though — my main focus right now is growth/marketing for ExamBuddy (getting more downloads, reaching students). Does FounderFlow help with that side of things, or is it more focused on internal business tracking/priorities? Just want to make sure I'm looking at it with the right lens.
Good question, and I want to give you a straight answer instead of stretching it to fit. FounderFlow does not help with growth or marketing, it will not get you more downloads or reach students. It is built for the internal side of running a business, watching what is happening across it, flagging what actually needs your attention, and telling you the next right move. With growth being your main focus right now for ExamBuddy, that might not be the most useful lens to look through. If you are still curious how it works you are welcome to take a look anyway, no pressure either way.
Appreciate the honest answer, that's exactly the kind of straight talk that makes this community good. I'll pass for now since I'm heads-down on growth for ExamBuddy, but I'll keep FounderFlow in mind if my focus shifts toward the internal/ops side later. Good luck with it!
↳ Replying to KEERTHIVASAN S
Appreciate you being straight with me too, Keerthivasan. Good luck getting ExamBuddy in front of those institutes, the pilot idea should give you a real story to tell the next one. The door stays open if the internal side ever becomes the priority.
↳ Replying to Stacy Wycoff
Thank you for your valuable time and the constructive feedback during our recent discussion. I truly appreciate your encouraging words regarding ExamBuddy and our upcoming pilot phase.
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