The Internet is full of free information on practically every topic. But it’s not always clear where to look for reliable information, and you could waste hours.
That was the problem facing Jane Limanskaya, 25, who always had the vague notion of wanting to learn about art, but never knew where to find relevant articles, and didn’t know how to motivate herself to read something on a daily basis.
So she teamed up with her friend Artem
Zavyalov, 26, and they started an
online service that provides users with a
short educational piece on a chosen topic
by email every morning.
Their time-proven motto is that everyone
can become a bit wiser with a little
learning every day.
Having started with the Russian language
website Eggheado in March 2014,
in less than a year they launched its English-language
twin – Highbrow. As of
this fall, they have more than 100,000
subscribers on both websites, about
70,000 of whom signed up for Highbrow.
More than 60 percent of Highbrow’s
subscribers are from the United States,
15 percent from Canada, Australia and
the United Kingdom, and the rest from
Africa, Asia and the rest of Europe.
“At first it was just a hobby,” Zavyalov
told the Kyiv Post. “The subscribers
of Eggheado just got articles that we
found online. We didn’t produce anything.”
Soon they realized there was a huge
interest in their service, so they started
writing for their audience. This was
doable for their Russian-speaking subscribers,
but Highbrow required native
English speakers. For that they hired two
freelance writers and an editor from the
United States.
Highbrow is now their priority.
It offers 58 courses on 10 subjects: art,
health, history, literature, logic, nature,
philosophy, productivity, psychology
and science.
Each course contains 10 lessons, short
enough for a subscriber to digest in fi ve
minutes. Zavyalov compares it to daily
morning exercises.
“There are people who visit the gym once a week and work out
for a couple of hours. And there are people who work out for fi ve
minutes every day. For me, the second approach is more eff ective,”
he said. “It motivates you to do more and more. There is why we
suggest learning something new every day, to make a habit of it. A
daily morning habit.”
What bothers many users at fi rst is that Highbrow doesn’t allow
multiple course subscriptions, Limanskaya said. But those who
complained at fi rst have now ended up thanking them, she said.
“They say: ‘I was upset at fi rst, but I’m taking a 10th course now,
and I realize that had I subscribed to all of them, I’d have given
up the next day,” Zavyalov said. “The idea is that the courses are
short. Aft er 10 days you take another topic, so you don’t get bored
or tired.”
Feedback from subscribers has become a steady source of inspiration,
he added.
“It is fascinating how involved our subscribers are. They tell us
what topics they want, and we oft en take up their ideas,” Zavyalov said.
Even Hollywood celebrities like Jessica Stroup, who starred in
the 90210 series, championed the service on her Twitter blog and
called it “my favorite way to learn.”
She was followed by Brittany Snow, another U.S. actress, who
thanked Highbrow “for making my mornings fascinating.”
“That’s how we expand,” Zavyalov smiled.
There is one request that Highbrow co-founders say they will
never grant, according to Limanskaya.
“People ask us why we don’t design a mobile application for
Highbrow,” Limanskaya said. “And we say, look, there is an application
on your mobile phone, it’s called an email app.”
The technical part of the project requires at least $1,000 per
month and the operating costs grow with each month. Sponsors
were brought in to cover expenses, including royalties to writers,
so that Highbrow can remain a free service.
Sponsors don’t infl uence the content, but they are mentioned
in articles. However, they still don’t account for a steady income
stream, Zavyalov says.
“We’re focusing more on expansion now, not income. Our main
goal is to cover expenses, we earn about $3,000-$4,000 per month
now, but we started this sponsorship thing only in August,” Zavyalov
said.
In the future, Zavyalov said, Highbrow plans to broaden its
range of topics – from general knowledge to specifi c and practical
courses. They have already started discussions with experts who
might design courses for Highbrow.
It also wants to introduce paid premium accounts that would allow
users to customize their subscriptions – for example, to set the
time of the day when they receive their lesson.
The content will stay the same for everyone though – free and
laconical, Limanskaya said.
“There is plenty of information on the Internet – books, online
courses, Wikipedia at least. However, almost nowhere is there
such short and clear material as we produce. If you want more –
you have endless possibilities. Just go and take them,” she said.
“We just want to inspire people, to make them want to learn
more, read more, to get into the habit of learning.”
Kyiv Post staff writer Alyona Zhuk can be reached at [email protected].
