What if you could learn slight of hand or how to knit from the comfort of your own bedroom? Sounds like an introvert’s wet dream, right? Shy guys and gals with a penchant for hobbies, send your thank you notes to Powhow, a New York-based startup that offers live classes over webcam.
Started by Google alum Viva Chu, the freshly launched venture features carefully curated classes with handpicked instructors that users can take online via their webcams. According to a press release, “Powhow is the first global marketplace for live webcam classes. Students can find and take fitness, cooking, music, arts, DIY, and crafting classes from instructors all around the world. Students can see and talk directly with their instructors and other students.”
Students can choose from a variety of time slots to take their class–most classes range from 30-60 minutes per session, and cost about $10-$30, depending on the instructor. It’s probably more than you’d pay at the local YMCA, but you get the benefit of not actually having to go to the YMCA.
Powhow also provides a platform for people to sign up to teach classes. Instructors can schedule and market classes, as well as manage payments, all through the tool. There are no signup or monthly fees for instructors, but Powhow does take a 30 percent cut of every seat sold.
Powhow seems like a neat idea, though many of the classes are vaguely silly–for example, we would never spend $20 to learn how to make fancy gift wrap, but some people are maybe into that. The site is particularly ideal for people with busy schedules or those of us who just don’t like to leave our houses that much (ahem.) Now if you’ll excuse us, we have a drunken boxing class to check out.
