Case study
Darstop — Live STEM Learning Platform for Immigrant Families in the USA
Immigrant families in the United States wanted high-quality STEM education for their kids, taught in a familiar language and culture - but they were stuck choosing between generic Zoom tutors and US-only platforms that ignored their context entirely. The team needed a fully owned product, built from zero, that could host live classes at scale without depending on third-party video APIs that drain margin and limit control.
Challenge
What the founders faced.
Immigrant families in the United States wanted high-quality STEM education for their kids, taught in a familiar language and culture - but they were stuck choosing between generic Zoom tutors and US-only platforms that ignored their context entirely. The team needed a fully owned product, built from zero, that could host live classes at scale without depending on third-party video APIs that drain margin and limit control.
Solution
What we built.
- Built Darstop from zero for the US market - product, brand, payments, compliance and operations
- Designed a verified-teacher marketplace specifically for STEM subjects taught to immigrant families
- Engineered a fully in-house live video conferencing stack on WebRTC and SFU - no Zoom, no Twilio, no third-party SDK
- Delivered classroom features built for learning: low-latency video, breakout sessions, screen share, interactive whiteboard and recording
- Shipped course discovery, scheduling, free trial flow and US payment integrations
- Built teacher tools for class management, attendance, homework and parent communication
- Launched a parent-facing experience with progress reports and child safety controls
Impact
Darstop went from blank page to a live STEM education platform serving thousands of immigrant families in the US - and crucially, owns its entire video stack. No per-minute Zoom fees, no API limits, no vendor lock-in. The platform's economics and roadmap are fully under the founders' control.
Built from zero for the US market in a single engagement
10,000+ students and 4.9/5 average class rating
100% in-house live video stack - no third-party video APIs
Verified-teacher network curated for STEM and immigrant-family fit
Free trial → paid conversion funnel live from launch
Product economics fully owned - no per-minute SaaS costs eating margin
“Steppe built the entire platform - including our own video conferencing - so we don't pay Zoom for every minute and we control the classroom experience end to end.”
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