Clivir - Learning Community

In the ongoing coverage of exploring new startups coming out of Australia, today we explore a promising startup in E-Learning - Clivir. It was founded by Simon from Perth Australia.

In a recent email-based interview with Simon, he explained how he is progressing with his venture.

• Please tell us about yourself, your background and interests?
I have always been interested in teaching people. I have been in training/teaching for about 8 years. I was a high school science teacher for a while then moved into training people with disabilities. For the last few years, I have been training specialist software.

• Please tell us about your venture/company?
Clivir features tutorial-style lessons that can be created by combining text with web-based resources from sites like YouTube, Photobucket, Flickr and Scribd etc.
These lessons are grouped within member-created classrooms that provide informal learning environments for discussions and member interactions.

• Don’t let tutorials get lost in your community forums again.
• Showcase your skills by teaching others what you can do.
• Promote your service or product.
• Add further value to your face-to-face study or teaching.

• How long it took before it was up and running?
It has taken a year to get it all together from concept. Well worth the time and effort though.

• What is the main objective/mission behind your venture?
Our objective is simple. Create a ‘learning community’. I create and maintain a community environment where anyone can learn and teach.

• What type of customers you are targeting?
Everyone has something to teach and most people like to learn new things. So we are not targeting any particular user group. You can teach and learn almost anything at Clivir.

• How many people are using your services?
The number of people using Clivir is quite small at the moment. We only soft-launched a few weeks ago. We expect fairly steady future growth as content grows.

• What sort of marketing you are using to spread the word?

• Word of mouth.
• We have touched base with a few bloggers and online news sites in Australia. We have got a few really positive reviews so far.
• We have also a few ideas up our sleeves for future marketing.

• How are you measuring the success of your venture? Are there any special mechanisms/tools in place to monitor the progress?
Success for us is a measure of the number of valued interactions between our members. This is not easy to measure but I guess in simple terms the more members and activities (lessons, comments, questions, discussions etc.) the more successful the learning community is.

• Which are the main competitors or major players in this market segment?
About, ehow, wikiHow, HowStuffWorks, sutree, learnhub and Instructables are all offering different services within the learning space.

• What's your thought on being an entrepreneur? How tough it is to start a venture in Australia?

If being an entrepreneur means investing time, energy and money in an idea that you passionately believe in then I think that’s cool. I’m really glad to be involved with something that will hopefully add value to people’s lives.

I don’t know if it is any tougher to start a venture in Oz compared to elsewhere. It does seem that start-ups get more exposure in the US though. Having said that all the journalists who I have been in contact with in Australia have been really supportive.

• Do you have any advice for people who want to start their venture?
If you think it will add value to people's lives and you are passionate about it then do it.

Thanks, Simon for sharing your thoughts with us. All the best for the future.

For coverage on other Australian startups, innovation, and tech trends, check this out and our coverage on interviews can be found here