The Birth of ZNotes

June 2014

16-year-old Zubair set up a blog to share the resources he created for his own IGCSE exams. Through word of mouth, his revision notes were discovered by students all over the world and ZNotes was born.

16-year-old Zubair set up a blog to share the resources he created for his own IGCSE exams. Through word of mouth, his revision notes were discovered by students all over the world and ZNotes was born.

Our First Million

2016

The year began with 10,000 hits on the counter but the growth was exponential, and it was not long before we hit our first million hits! With it, the community continued to grow too and for the first time, students began to email offering contributions and expanding our notes.

The year began with 10,000 hits on the counter but the growth was exponential, and it was not long before we hit our first million hits! With it, the community continued to grow too and for the first time, students began to email offering contributions and expanding our notes.

Our First Accelerator

2018

After reaching out to the UCL Enterprise Department, we were accepted onto the UCL Launch programme - this was the moment where ZNotes was becoming a startup.

After reaching out to the UCL Enterprise Department, we were accepted onto the UCL Launch programme - this was the moment where ZNotes was becoming a startup.

Launch of The Tomato Timer

May 2019

Taking advantage of Discord’s features, we hosted weekly live sessions through the voice channels. They began as informal conversations and soon enough we started to invite guests outside of our community, featuring remarkable guests including experts, entrepreneurs and academics.

Taking advantage of Discord’s features, we hosted weekly live sessions through the voice channels. They began as informal conversations and soon enough we started to invite guests outside of our community, featuring remarkable guests including experts, entrepreneurs and academics.

Launch of ZNotes 2.0

May 2020

![A year after we designed our first mockups and four development teams, came the launch of ZNotes 2.0!

](https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/secure.notion-static.com/29675358-9d58-4513-b40c-56d282212777/Untitled.png)

A year after we designed our first mockups and four development teams, came the launch of ZNotes 2.0!

100 Sets of Notes

We've now published a 100 sets of ZNotes and we're incredibly thankful to every contributor who's been here through this journey to help us get here ❤️

We've now published a 100 sets of ZNotes and we're incredibly thankful to every contributor who's been here through this journey to help us get here ❤️

And Then There Were Three

September 2015

Heading into A-Levels, Zubair ropes in his two best friends, Emir and Saif to help. With multiple authors, ZNotes now grows into A-Level notes, offering resources for the three sciences and math.

Heading into A-Levels, Zubair ropes in his two best friends, Emir and Saif to help. With multiple authors, ZNotes now grows into A-Level notes, offering resources for the three sciences and math.

The Team Grows & We Rebrand

2017

![Our first volunteers joined the ZNotes team; each bringing a unique set of talents and keeping the platform afloat. With it came another change, a major brand upheaval as the logo and web design evolved to be more modern and attractive.

](https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/secure.notion-static.com/d6b44398-e62b-4cbf-9277-eb0976f0d4f8/Untitled.png)

Our first volunteers joined the ZNotes team; each bringing a unique set of talents and keeping the platform afloat. With it came another change, a major brand upheaval as the logo and web design evolved to be more modern and attractive.

Launch of Our Discord Server

November 2018

Our community grew to over 2,500 members and Discord became our main communication platform. Its distinct features enabled our community to grow much quicker. Students are now able to create smaller study groups and collaborate more.

Our community grew to over 2,500 members and Discord became our main communication platform. Its distinct features enabled our community to grow much quicker. Students are now able to create smaller study groups and collaborate more.

Becoming A Social Impact Startup

March 2020

![We finally established ourselves as a socially-driven business in the UK as two separate entities. We registered ZNotes Foundation as a not-for-profit organisation to promote UN SDG 4. Alongside, we had ZNotes Education which would be an edtech startup growing exponentially with investments.

](https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/secure.notion-static.com/a6d2e305-e5c1-4bb7-84ed-6fbba93224a0/Untitled.png)

We finally established ourselves as a socially-driven business in the UK as two separate entities. We registered ZNotes Foundation as a not-for-profit organisation to promote UN SDG 4. Alongside, we had ZNotes Education which would be an edtech startup growing exponentially with investments.

Dealing with the Pandemic

June 2020

In situations as tumultuous as those produced by the pandemic, anyone involved with education had to shift perspectives to tackle the challenge. We extended our offerings through the launch of ZNotes Live, ZNotes Insider and #Get2Uni to support our community.

In situations as tumultuous as those produced by the pandemic, anyone involved with education had to shift perspectives to tackle the challenge. We extended our offerings through the launch of ZNotes Live, ZNotes Insider and #Get2Uni to support our community.