Thryve: AI-Powered Intelligent Study Companion
From traditional study methods to AI-enhanced learning—a platform that transforms how students learn, retain, and succeed.
What we set out to deliver
Clear objectives and deliverables that guided our work.
We built an AI-powered study platform that reached 15,000 students in 6 months while reducing OpenAI API costs by 70% through intelligent caching and prompt optimization.
Impact at a glance
Measurable outcomes that demonstrate the success of our work.
Where it all
started
Studying is broken for the modern student.
Students spend hours creating flashcards, searching for practice questions, and trying to figure out what's actually important. Meanwhile, AI can generate quizzes, summarize complex topics, and create personalized study plans—but no one had packaged this into a cohesive study experience.
Joseph Giordano and Julian Crupi came to us with a clear vision: make AI-powered study tools accessible to every student, not just those who can code or subscribe to multiple expensive tools.
The problem: • Market crowded with point solutions: Quizlet for flashcards, Kahoot for quizzes, ChatGPT for Q&A—students juggle 5+ tools • AI implementation uncertainty: How to integrate OpenAI effectively? Fine-tune models? Handle costs at scale? • Unclear monetization: Freemium? Subscription tiers? University partnerships? • Student adoption challenge: Students are price-sensitive and hesitant to switch from familiar tools • Limited technical team: Founders had vision but needed execution partner
With a competitive EdTech landscape and 18-week timeline, they needed a partner who could: 1. Design an all-in-one study experience (not another point solution) 2. Integrate AI thoughtfully (useful, not gimmicky) 3. Build for scale (thousands of concurrent users during exam season) 4. Position for growth (seed round ready)
Research & Strategy
We started by interviewing 30 college students about their study habits. One pattern emerged: students don't want more tools—they want one tool that does everything.
All-in-one platform, not point solution
• AI-generated quizzes ✅ • AI-generated flashcards ✅ • Document summarization ✅ • Progress tracking ✅ • Study scheduling ✅
Freemium model with generous free tier
• Free: 50 AI generations/month (enough to validate value) • Pro: Unlimited generations ($9.99/month—less than Quizlet + ChatGPT combined)
Web-first, mobile-responsive
• Students study on laptops during lectures, review on phones during commute • PWA approach (web app that feels native on mobile)
AI integration strategy
• Use OpenAI API (don't fine-tune initially—iterate on prompts first) • Implement caching (don't regenerate identical quizzes—save costs) • Rate limiting (prevent abuse, control costs)
Target market: College students first, then high school
• College students pay for tools themselves (better conversion) • Viral growth through study groups and classmates
Development & Engineering
We chose Next. js for its server-side rendering (crucial for SEO—students Google "generate quiz from notes") and React for rich interactivity.
AI Quiz Generation Engine
• Upload PDFs, Word docs, or paste text • AI analyzes content and generates: • 10-50 quiz questions (adjustable difficulty) • Multiple choice, true/false, short answer, fill-in-blank • Explanations for correct answers (AI-generated) • Caching layer: Similar documents = reuse questions (save 70% API costs)
AI Flashcard Generation
• Extracts key concepts from study materials • Generates front/back flashcard pairs • Spaced repetition algorithm (shows cards you're struggling with more often) • Export to Anki format (for students who want to use existing tools)
Document Summarization
• Handles PDFs up to 100 pages • Generates tiered summaries: • TL;DR (2-3 sentences) • Key Points (bullet list) • Detailed Summary (paragraphs with sections) • Highlights important terms automatically
Study Dashboard & Progress Tracking
• Shows quiz performance over time • Identifies weak areas (topics with lowest scores) • Study streak tracking (gamification) • Study session history (what you studied, when, for how long) • AI-generated study recommendations ("You're weak on Chapter 3, focus there")
Smart Rate Limiting & Cost Control
• Track OpenAI token usage per user • Soft limits (warnings) and hard limits (upgrade prompt) • Caching to reduce redundant API calls (70% cost reduction) • Batch processing for efficiency
UI/UX & Visual Design
Thryve needed to feel smart but approachable—like a helpful study buddy, not an intimidating AI. Clean, minimal design that puts focus on content (quizzes, flashcards, summaries) not chrome.
Focused Study Interface
• Clean, distraction-free quiz-taking experience • Large text (readable during lectures on phones) • High contrast (works in bright classrooms and dim dorm rooms) • Keyboard shortcuts (power users love this)
Progress Visualization
• Charts showing quiz scores over time • Heat map of strong/weak topics • Study streak calendar (builds habit) • Leaderboard (opt-in, for competitive students)
AI Output Design
• Quiz questions feel human-written (not robotic) • Explanations are concise and student-friendly • Flashcards use color coding (difficult = red, mastered = green) • Summaries use clear hierarchy (headers, bullets, bold key terms)
Onboarding Flow
• 3-step onboarding (upload document → generate quiz → see results) • Gamified progress (badges for milestones: first quiz, 10 quizzes, 100% score) • Tooltip guidance (first-time users get gentle nudges)
Mobile-Responsive
• Fully functional on mobile (not just "works on mobile") • Touch-optimized (swipe between flashcards, tap to reveal answer) • Offline mode (review flashcards without internet)
Launch & Growth
EdTech growth is driven by word-of-mouth and content marketing. We built the systems for both.
Content Marketing (SEO-Driven)
• Blog posts targeting student search queries: • "How to study for finals week" • "Best AI study tools for college students" • "How to make flashcards quickly" • Guides and templates (free study schedules, note-taking templates) • YouTube channel (study tips, product tutorials)
Product Hunt Launch
• Coordinated launch (reached #3 Product of the Day) • Drove 3,500 signups in 24 hours • Featured in TechCrunch "5 EdTech Tools to Watch"
Viral Growth Loops
• Referral program (give 1 month Pro, get 1 month Pro) • Study group invites (invite classmates → they join → viral spread) • Quiz sharing (share AI-generated quiz with classmates)
See it in action
The Caching Revelation
The pivotal moment that changed everything and led to success.
Two weeks before launch, we realized our OpenAI costs would bankrupt the company. At projected usage, we'd spend $15K/month on API calls alone—unsustainable for a student-focused freemium product.
Then our ML engineer had an insight: students often ask similar questions. "Explain photosynthesis" has millions of variations, but the core answer is the same. "What causes the French Revolution?" appears in slightly different forms across thousands of study sessions.
We built a semantic similarity cache. If a new question is 85%+ similar to a cached question, we serve the cached response with slight variations to feel fresh. This single architectural change reduced costs by 70%.
The business model went from "probably unsustainable" to "definitely viable" in one sprint. That's the difference between a startup that runs out of money and one that scales.
“That caching system is why Thryve exists today. Without it, we would have burned through our runway before reaching product-market fit.”
The numbers that matter
Measurable outcomes that demonstrate the value delivered.
Organic growth via word-of-mouth
Would recommend to classmates
Growing 20% MoM
Pro tier conversions
Hear it from them
Real feedback from the people we worked with.
“Hortensia took our vision for an AI study platform and turned it into a product students actually love. When we started, we knew AI could transform studying—but we didn't know how to build it. Horten...”
What we learned
Key takeaways and lessons from this project that inform future work.
Cache Everything Possible
Similar questions get similar AI responses. A semantic similarity cache cut our OpenAI costs by 70% while improving response times. The business model depends on it.
Students Want Consolidation
The #1 complaint about existing tools? Too many of them. One unified platform beats five specialized ones every time. Integration is the killer feature.
Freemium Works for EdTech
50 free AI generations per month hooks students. When exams approach, they upgrade. Conversion peaks during midterms and finals—time your marketing accordingly.
Built with precision
The technologies and tools that powered this project.
More Work
Discover other projects that showcase our expertise and approach.
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