Alum Finds Success as Co-Founder of Popular Tutoring App

Marwan El-Rukby, 2015–17
COO, Kadama

Marwan El-Rukby entered Bellevue College through Running Start in 2015. This first-generation American immigrant knew that he wanted to start a business.  He completed his business associate degree at age 20. His parents had emigrated to the Pacific Northwest from Syria to give him such an opportunity, he said. 

Today, El-Rukby, a Forbes 30 Under 30 recipient along with his partners, is the Chief Operating Officer of Kadama. Kadama is a tutoring app that connects young people to homework, essay, and study help 24/7. Students seeking tutors can find people their own age to give them advice and help them achieve their academic goals. Kadama has approximately 2 million users, and it all started from connections and ideas generated at Bellevue College. 

“I was always a bad student in school, and I never sought tutoring, unless my parents forced me into it,” El-Rukby said.  “But when I entered Running Start, I became more serious about my studies. I went to the tutoring labs at the college.”      

 While he received the help he needed, El-Rukby also realized that he was a better-than-average student seeking a little extra help.  

“I had a 3.8 GPA and was looking to improve to a 4.0,” he recalled. 

At the same time, he saw a need for a simple way for all students everywhere to connect to a resource like the Academic Success Center on campus.  His research into tutoring resources that were available online came up short. Most were unappealing or too expensive for average college students.     

“The question was how do we make tutoring fun and valuable to Gen Z,” El-Rukby said.  

In 2016, the summer after he began at Bellevue College, he began working on the idea that would eventually become Kadama. After finishing his Associate of Arts at Bellevue College, he transferred to the University of Washington in 2017, earning his Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration at the Foster School of Business. 

“I founded my company with Amin Shaykho, who was a year ahead of me in Running Start,” El-Rukby said.     

With Shaykho majoring in computer science and El-Rukby concentrating on business at Bellevue College, they were perfectly aligned to start a company utilizing their skills. Along with Shaykho’s brother Dani, the trio launched Kadama in 2019. It was an instant hit, attracting 2 million followers on Tik-Tok and $1.7 million in initial venture capital funding. 

A key component of Kadama’s success is linked to El-Rukby’s idea of making tutoring both fun and valuable on both sides of the transaction. College students can sign up to be tutors, and set their own rates, while those seeking help can connect with people who understand their experiences. All done through a simple phone app, something everyone is already comfortable with using. 

Now 25-years-old, El Rukby credits much of his success to the quality of education received at Bellevue College for achieving his dream.     

“The smaller class sizes, the professors who really care about what they are teaching, and the actual learning was huge,” he said.