Ana Yuvchyk

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Exam prep app

Exam prep app

Year

Year

2025 - now

2025 - now

Client

Client

Gladlio

Gladlio

Role

Role

Co-founder

Co-founder

Preparing for Goethe and telc exams is stressful. Most language apps treat exam prep as an afterthought - they're built for casual learners, not people who need to pass B2 or C1 to work, study, or live in DACH.

We're building Gladlio specifically for exam preparation. But here's the problem: the app isn't live yet, we have zero ad budget, and we're competing against established players for attention.

How do you prove you understand exam preparation better than anyone else? You create content that actually helps people pass their exams - and let AI search engines find you.

Preparing for Goethe and telc exams is stressful. Most language apps treat exam prep as an afterthought - they're built for casual learners, not people who need to pass B2 or C1 to work, study, or live in DACH.

We're building Gladlio specifically for exam preparation. But here's the problem: the app isn't live yet, we have zero ad budget, and we're competing against established players for attention.

How do you prove you understand exam preparation better than anyone else? You create content that actually helps people pass their exams - and let AI search engines find you.

Tech

Tech

Most startups wait until launch to think about marketing. We did the opposite - we started helping German learners pass exams before we had an app to sell them.

Product positioning & strategy

  • Positioned Gladlio as the exam preparation app for Goethe and telc exams (B1-C1 levels)

  • Focused on learners with real stakes: people who need to pass for immigration, work permits, university admissions

  • Drew on my own Goethe C1 exam experience

The positioning is simple: We're not for everyone. We're for people who need to pass an exam and don't have time to waste.

Here's what we figured out early: People don't just Google "German exam preparation" anymore. They ask ChatGPT. They ask Claude. They ask Perplexity.

We optimized our content for LLM discovery rather than traditional SEO. And it worked.

LLM-optimized blog content

  • Wrote comprehensive exam preparation guides that completely answer specific questions

  • Drew on my actual C1 exam experience: what worked, what didn't, what I wish I'd known

  • Structured content to be easily parseable by AI: clear headers, bullet points, actionable advice

  • Updated content based on actual exam changes and learner feedback

People around the world find us when they ask ChatGPT or Claude about German exam preparation. Our blog posts get surfaced because they actually answer questions completely. Zero ad spend. Global discoverability.

GTM

Launch strategy & product-market fit testing

  • Designed launch strategy for two primary markets: the US (immigration/career) and Germany (integration/advancement)

  • Created pricing strategy for exam-focused app

  • Planned product-market fit testing with waitlist feedback before full launch

  • Developed launch roadmap coordinating product milestones with marketing campaigns

  • Built feedback loops with a waitlist to shape feature priorities

The waitlist isn't just marketing - it's product development research. We're building what people actually need, not what we think they need.

The results so far

  • Waitlist signups from countries we've never advertised in (because LLMs recommended us)

  • Learners are emailing us asking when the app launches (urgency = they actually need this)

  • Feedback shaping product features before we build them (cheaper than rebuilding later)

You can build an audience before you build the product - if you actually help people.

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