- Alexandra Whitwam - Senior Manager Campaigns and Digital Storytelling, Telstra Foundation
When neighbours Bradley Cox and Jason Zhong decided to start a company together, they were just high school students in Queensland, spending more time searching for relevant practice exam questions than revising.
What began as a simple solution to a shared problem has since evolved into Exam Insights, a platform now used by 15,000 students and embedded in 400 schools across the State. These two young entrepreneurs are also recent recipients of $100,000 from a Queensland government initiative —an achievement that highlights the remarkable journey they’ve been on since taking part in a youth entrepreneurship program run by social enterprise Young Change Agents.
A solution to a shared problem
The idea for Exam Insights took root when Brad and Jason realised how time-consuming it was to sift through Queensland’s publicly available past exam papers. “We found ourselves spending hours combing through old papers just to find a few questions on a particular topic,” Brad says. Determined to streamline the process, the pair built Exam Insights—a tool designed to help them quickly find the exam questions they needed to prepare more efficiently.
Brad recalls how the initial version of the platform was just for him, Jason and their school friends, but word quickly spread. “We couldn’t just keep it to our individual schools,” he explains. “Students and educators from all across Queensland started using the prototype. And then it just took off.”
The role of Young Change Agents
Brad and Jason’s entrepreneurial journey took a significant leap forward when they discovered Young Change Agents, a non-profit organisation that takes students through launching and managing a purpose-driven enterprise.
“Young Change Agents offered us support at a time when we had a working prototype but hadn’t yet turned it into a business,” Brad explains. Through the Young Change Agents program, they gained access to mentoring and won $1,000 in seed funding, which Brad believes was crucial to the continued success of Exam Insights. “It took a lot of the financial pressure off us, allowing us to keep moving forward with the project.”
Young Change Agents’ focus on empowering young people to bring their ideas to life gave Brad and Jason the confidence to pursue their vision further. “The program introduced us to other young entrepreneurs and helped us realise that what we were building had real potential,” Brad says.
The experience also helped them grow their business mindset, transitioning from a simple solution for school friends to a platform ready for the broader education market.
Scaling up and securing funding
What began as a grassroots effort quickly blossomed. Today, Exam Insights has over 15,000 users from 400 schools and is making waves in the educational sector. The platform’s success has caught the attention of investors, and Brad and Jason recently secured $100,000 in funding through a Queensland government initiative. “It was a huge milestone for us,” Brad reflects. “The funding has meant we’ve been able to grow our team, hire a business development manager, start to host booths at conferences and start marketing the product.”
This funding represents an exciting new chapter in Brad and Jason’s journey. They’re now focused on expanding the platform’s features and want to make it more versatile for students and educators.
“We’re working on a freemium model, so we can keep 30 to 40% of the platform free while also ensuring financial sustainability,” Brad explains. This balance between social impact and financial viability is something both founders are deeply committed to.
A lifelong partnership
At the heart of Exam Insights is Brad and Jason’s partnership, who have known each other since they were kids. “We went to the same primary school and became neighbours in Year 7,” Brad says. Their shared ambition to create something meaningful together kept them motivated during long school holidays, and when the idea for Exam Insights came along, it felt like the perfect project to invest their time and energy.
The two taught themselves to code through online courses from Harvard University’s edX platform. “We took a couple of uni-level introductory courses in computer science and built the platform from there,” Brad says.
As they developed their coding skills, they also learned the intricacies of product development, marketing, and scaling a business—all while balancing schoolwork and exams.
Looking ahead
With major milestones already behind them, Brad and Jason are focused on the future. “Right now, we’re working to ship new features as quickly as possible so we can offer even more value to students and educators,” Brad says. They’re also evaluating their next big move: whether to focus on selling the platform directly to schools or target individual students and educators. “We’re still figuring out the best approach, but either way, we want to ensure Exam Insights continues to make a real difference for students.”
As they continue to grow their company, these two young entrepreneurs remain committed to their original goal—making exam prep more accessible and efficient for students everywhere.
What started as a solution to a personal problem has now become a tool helping thousands of students across Queensland and beyond. For Brad and Jason, the journey has only just begun.
