Launching a New Vertical with Innovative Study Tools

Product Design Product Strategy UX Research Prototyping Mobile Ed Tech Startup Apple Watch

QUICK READ ➤ GREMax is a mobile-first study tool designed to help students prepare for the GRE — a standardized exam required for graduate school admissions. My role involved integrating interactive lessons with practice questions, designing hands-free study modes, and even expanding learning capabilities to the Apple Watch, providing students with a flexible and cost-effective alternative to traditional prep courses.

KPI Highlights

11.5%

Install-to-paid conversion rate

7.3

Average sessions per install

463

Peak daily sessions

Revenue growth in first 12 months after launch

Overview

TestMax is a digital education company best known for its comprehensive LSAT and Bar Exam prep courses. As part of TestMax’s expansion beyond legal exam prep, we created GREMax to explore opportunities in the broader graduate education market. Unlike our premium-priced LSAT and Bar courses, GREMax was positioned as a lower-cost subscription service aimed at high-volume adoption, with the long-term goal of converting users into higher-value tutoring customers.

As the product lead, I collaborated directly with the CEO, CTO, and engineering team to define and execute the vision for the platform. I led branding, UX, and visual design efforts to craft an experience that felt consistent with the TestMax suite while tailored to the needs and behaviors of GRE students.

Differentiation was key—unlike the relatively underserved legal prep space, the GRE market was highly saturated. In addition to strategic positioning, we faced technical and UX challenges unique to the GRE, including complex math notation, diagram-heavy questions, and a wider range of question types.

The final product balanced the technical demands of GRE content with a clean, approachable interface and intuitive study flow, allowing us to compete effectively in a crowded market.

Designing a Convenient GRE Study Companion

The GREMax mobile app provides structured lessons that seamlessly integrated practice questions, allowing students to immediately apply what they learned. Users also have access to a large bank of practice questions and analytics to track their performance.

A major innovation is the hands-free mode, which enables students to study vocabulary without needing to touch their phone. This feature allowes users to practice while driving or multitasking, making study sessions more accessible. Another UX breakthrough is the inline practice question design, ensuring that students could reinforce concepts immediately without switching contexts.

The most significant technical challenge was implementing LaTeX notation to accurately display complex mathematical equations and diagrams, an unexpected hurdle that required deep problem-solving. Despite these challenges, the app successfully provides an intuitive, high-quality learning experience.

3x Speed Product Walkthrough

Hands-Free Mode Demonstration

Loading Animation

Apple Watch App Design

Building on TestMax’s commitment to accessibility, we developed an Apple Watch extension of GREMax. The watch app primarily focused on vocabulary study, offering quick flashcard sessions and short quizzes.

The biggest challenge was adapting meaningful study interactions to such a small screen while maintaining usability. Through a simplified UI, we enabled users to quickly flip through vocab flashcards and track their performance, turning idle moments into effective study time.

This extension further reinforced TestMax’s philosophy of making test prep fit into a student’s daily life, maximizing study opportunities across different devices.

Watch Vocab App Demo

Conclusion

GREMax was a beautifully designed product that helped students study efficiently and on their own terms. It saw solid user adoption and engagement in its first couple years, proving that there was demand for an affordable, accessible GRE study tool. However, despite its popularity, it ultimately did not drive the tutoring conversions TestMax had hoped for, leading to a strategic decision to sunset the app.

This project highlighted the challenges of breaking into a competitive market and reinforced key insights into user behavior in GRE prep. Though the app is no longer available, it remains a testament to our ability to create innovative and engaging learning experiences tailored to student needs.