Mercurius Saad

My parents immigrated from Sudan to Wales after 12 years of infertility, chasing research that could help. I grew up in council housing where my dad worked night shifts in restaurants just to keep the lights on. We moved around a lot before settling in Middlesbrough. Education was everything—but my obsession with Halo 3 meant my grades began to slip. Weeks before turning 18, I failed most of my exams except maths. Luckily, I managed to convince my teachers to let me resit. The trade off? Lunch breaks spent at the library tutoring students.

That summer, music found me. I bootlegged FL Studio, dreamed of becoming the next Pharrell Williams and turned every McDonald's payslip into studio equipment. When university applications came around, SAE Institute wanted me for Audio Production while Birmingham University kept me waiting for Mathematics with Business Management, demanding AAA grades. I got ABC. When Birmingham finally said yes, I chose them out of fear rather than passion. Huge mistake. I spent lectures asking "Why am I here? I should be making music." I was also failing class tests and nearly dropped out. Then a past student's story sparked a change. Just like that, I overhauled my life: 5am runs, cold showers, journaling, six hours of daily study. My grades flipped from 68% to 86%, I was crowned the highest-achieving student and offered a full PhD scholarship—all while releasing 20 tracks, performing weekly, selling merch and even appearing as an extra in Brotherhood (2016).

Fast forward to 2017: I moved to London to join a Swedish advertising agency as their first UK employee, spending millions for global brands while balancing artist management and radio presenting. Every campaign taught me customer acquisition—a skill I knew would be essential for starting my own company. Two years later, I left to explore startup ideas, freelancing to pay the bills and soon incorporating WELOVEMONDAY to offer digital marketing in a productised way. I've worked with incredible brands like Apple, Samsung, Pippa Small and TuneCore.

Tutorbloc was born from personal frustration. Airbnb let you rent a stranger's spare room; Uber made booking a taxi magical. But there wasn't a safe, instant way to book a private tutor. A chance meeting at church with a fellow musician connected me with my co-founder. Together we grew into one of London's top-rated EdTech startups: acquiring users, generating revenue, winning a £40,000 Innovate UK grant, surviving COVID, raising angel investment and fending off copycats—in less than three years. But then we hit a wall. The unit economics stopped working and scaling would require a mountain of VC dollars. So, we went back to the drawing board. Tutors weren't struggling to find clients, they were drowning in admin. That insight led us to pivot: from marketplace to subscription, from tutors to anyone. In April 2025, we relaunched as an all-in-one platform to teach, manage clients and grow earnings.

Alongside building, I've stayed committed to giving back—mentoring university students, serving on Impact Hub London's board as well as backing startups such as Unfabled and Valerie. My path hasn't been linear, but the through-line is clear: obsession, discipline, reinvention.

Every setback was training.
Every obsession was fuel.
Every pivot proved I could adapt.