When AI can tutor anyone, anytime, why are parents still choosing human tutors?
Live from EdTech Week 2026 at Teachers College's Digital Futures Institute, Mike Palmer sits down with Eugene Kashuk, founder of Brighterly and the show's first guest from Ukraine. Eugene is a serial entrepreneur with a go-to-market and operations background. Over five years he has grown Brighterly into a direct-to-consumer platform with one-on-one live tutoring in math and reading for grades 1–9. It now serves more than 20,000 American families, with over 1,200 tutors and a team of more than 250 people around the world.
Eugene describes the two camps he's seeing at EdTech Week: the disruptors who think AI will remake everything, and the folks banning screens in schools. Brighterly sits in between. It's built around real human educators, and it uses AI as a supplement, including an AI reading practice tutor. Eugene explains how Brighterly vets and trains tutors through a three-week program and requires them to teach standardized, state-aligned curriculum. It also reviews session videos for feedback, assesses students on a regular cycle, and keeps pricing about 2.5x below the average US tutor so it reaches families who need it most.
Eugene also gives a candid look at building a company from Kyiv as the war nears its fifth year, and at the resilience of his team. He then turns the tables with a question for Mike: Brighterly's own parent survey found that most kids are bringing home As and Bs, yet more than half of parents feel their children are falling behind. Mike shares his take on grade inflation, the power of tutoring, and why parents may be leaning toward trusted humans over AI right now.
This is one of four conversations recorded at EdTech Week 2026. Thanks to StartEd and Alyssa Miller for making it happen.
Guest: Eugene Kashuk, Founder, Brighterly
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