Former Googler Unveils An Online Marketplace For Live

As VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), chat, and web-based videoconferencing solutions expand their reach, we’ve seen a corresponding growth in both the remote workforce and telecommuting. Not only that, however these technologies are beginning to disrupt education, as startups like Khan Academy, 2tor, ShowMe, Udemy, Lynda.com, and the Minerva Project are all showing how video and advanced web platforms can turn distance learning into an elegant and actually valuable supplement to learning.

Full range of town hall-style video broadcasting

But during tools like these offer a full range of town hall-style video broadcasting, webinars, and video conferencing, they’re as a rule built from the ground up for businesses. The presentation tools and their UIs are configured for meetings, or to run PowerPoint presentations. And during Skype and Google Hangouts are more consumer-facing, intended for both casual and professional use, they don’t offer the kind of back end tools that instructors and teachers need to run actual businesses.

When we caught up with Powhow CEO and Co-Founder Viva Chu, this is something he stressed as the key to Powhow’s business. The platform isn’t just a landing site for a suite of standalone hobby-classes, the startup is hand-picking quality, credentialed educators, working with them individually to launch full-scale web businesses. That’s why, beyond offering live classroom and recording video capabilities, Powhow offers instructors tools that enable them to post, schedule, and track classes to stay on top of which classes are full, which are open, and send reminders, do pre-class prep or follow-ups with their students.

The other side

On the other side, all students need is a webcam, an internet connection, and a credit card to participate. Students can join classes just to observe, and add their scheduled classes directly to iCal, Outlook, or Google Calendar. In that sense, Powhow is trying to build a destination platform that addresses the pent-up demand for fun, hobby-based instructors — and a public, online marketplace in which to conduct live classes.