Building a Romanian high school exam preparation platform from a personal problem
Bacprep started from a deeply personal experience. As a student growing up in Romania, I struggled with the Romanian language final exam, especially as part of the Hungarian minority. That challenge planted the idea for a Romanian high school exam preparation platform when I was just 12 years old. Years later, that idea became Bacprep.ro, an AI-powered learning product designed specifically for students facing the same structural difficulties I once did.
The platform was built as an edtech micro SaaS case study Romania can relate to: focused, community-driven, and grounded in real educational needs rather than abstract AI promises. Instead of targeting the entire education market, Bacprep concentrated on a single, high-stakes moment in students’ lives: the final high school exams. This focus shaped every product decision, from feature scope to onboarding strategy.
Bacprep was developed as a revenue-generating micro SaaS, reaching around $500/month in a sustainable niche. While it did not achieve full product-market fit due to broader EdTech monetization challenges, it continues to serve a specific and underserved community of Romanian students preparing for their exams.
Designing an AI essay correction tool for Romanian exams
One of the core problems students face during exam preparation is the lack of structured feedback. Bacprep addressed this with an AI essay correction tool for Romanian exams, designed to simulate how real exam evaluators assess written work. Instead of generic grammar feedback, the system focuses on structure, coherence, and exam-specific requirements.
As Product Designer and AI Developer, I designed the full product flow end to end. Students submit essays, receive structured corrections, and understand where they lose points according to official grading logic. This made the AI essay correction tool for Romanian exams practical rather than experimental, aligning closely with real-world expectations.
The feature was developed rapidly during the MVP phase, completed in just three weeks. Using React and Next.js for the frontend and Supabase with Postgres for data storage, the system was optimized for fast iteration. The AI logic was tightly scoped to avoid overpromising, reinforcing Bacprep’s positioning as a focused Romanian high school exam preparation platform rather than a generic AI tutor.
Real-world exam simulation software for high school students
Beyond essays, students needed realistic practice environments. Bacprep introduced exam simulation software for high school students that mirrors actual exam conditions. Timed tests, structured prompts, and realistic constraints help students reduce anxiety and build confidence before the real exam.
This exam simulation software for high school students was intentionally simple. Instead of overwhelming users with dashboards, the experience replicates the pressure and pacing of real exams. This design choice came directly from conversations with students, many of whom expressed that stress management was as important as academic knowledge.
By combining simulation with feedback loops, Bacprep positioned itself as a practical Romanian high school exam preparation platform. The simulations helped students understand not only what they knew, but how they performed under exam conditions, an often-overlooked aspect of exam readiness.
Manual onboarding and community-driven growth
Growth did not come from ads or automated funnels. We onboarded users manually, spoke directly with students, and visited multiple high schools in our county. This hands-on approach allowed us to validate assumptions quickly and refine features based on real feedback rather than analytics alone.
We spent significant time discussing challenges with students from Hungarian minority backgrounds, understanding language barriers and curriculum gaps. These insights directly influenced product decisions, reinforcing Bacprep as a niche education SaaS product development effort rooted in empathy and lived experience.
Over time, teachers and students reported that Bacprep helped more students successfully complete their final exams. While we did not publish formal statistics, the local impact was visible and meaningful. This community-driven approach became a defining element of this edtech micro SaaS case study Romania can learn from.
Pivoting to a defensible niche education SaaS product
Bacprep emerged after pivoting from a more general AI learning product, Quino. The broader AI education market became increasingly oversaturated, driven more by hype than outcomes. Strategically, we chose to focus on Romanian high school exam preparation, a market small enough to understand deeply and specific enough to defend.
As Product Manager, I managed the pivot and niche product development solo, aligning scope with realistic monetization. This niche education SaaS product development strategy allowed Bacprep to reach consistent monthly revenue while remaining operationally lean.
The product was built by a small team of three, with me acting as solo full-stack developer and collaborating closely with my co-founder on product decisions. Stripe handled payments, completing a full-stack SaaS architecture that proved viable despite the inherent challenges of EdTech.
Lessons from an edtech micro SaaS case study Romania
Bacprep demonstrates that meaningful products do not need massive scale to matter. As an edtech micro SaaS case study Romania, it highlights the value of focus, manual user engagement, and designing with lived experience in mind. While true product-market fit remains elusive in education, Bacprep achieved sustainability and real-world impact.
The Romanian high school exam preparation platform continues to serve its community, validating the original vision born from a student’s struggle years ago. By combining AI essay correction, exam simulation software for high school students, and community-driven development, Bacprep stands as a grounded example of building technology that serves a specific and meaningful purpose.
