Two business majors develop note-sharing platform for Florida Tech students

Stoopidnotes is an emerging note-sharing platform, exclusive to Florida Tech students, that allows notes, study guides, tests, practice problems and other course content to be uploaded and shared across campus.

The website, created for students by students, launched at the end of October and already has over 200 users.

Students who register for Stoopidnotes are able to search for notes by professor’s name, course name or the name of the student who uploaded the notes. The website rewards Top Note Takers, also referred to as TNTs, through a point system. Users have the ability to like files posted on Stoopidnotes. When a student’s file is upvoted or when a student uploads notes, that student receives points.

“The idea for Stoopidnotes began as an assignment for Business Plan Research class,” said founder of Stoopidnotes Kevin Jackman, a senior majoring in business administration and marketing.

Jomo Daniels, a senior at Florida Tech majoring in business and information technology management, is the web developer for Stoopidnotes.

Daniels explained how the partnership began.

“We have the same class. My business pitch was pretty much about creating websites,” Daniels said. “Kevin needed a ride because he wanted to present his idea in front of some people, so I gave him a ride over. I told him, ‘If you need some help with your website, hit me up.’ After that, we just came together.”

Jackman and Daniels, the two-man team who paired up to bring Stoopidnotes to life, both have backgrounds as student-athletes.

“I was on a football scholarship. I am done with football now, and it just gave me a lot of time to focus on things I actually like to do. I love football, but I really have free time. I don’t think Stoopidnotes would have even happened, I wouldn’t be working on it with him right now, if I was still playing football,” explained Daniels.

Jackman, who is an athlete for the Track and Field, designed Stoopidnotes to make it easier for athletes, and all students, to track down notes from missed classes.

“A big part of my pitch is that athletes in season — I’m on the track team so we go to a meet and it is probably worse for the football players and basketball — but yeah, I miss 10 hours of class time,” Jackman explains.

“A lot of things are said in person, it’s not just what [professors] put on Canvas, but a lot of things that they say are really crucial,” Jackman said.

Jackman said they created the platform to open resources up to everyone.

“[Professors] will say ‘this will be on the test,’ so if you’re writing that down and I missed it, that could cost me a C to an A. It opens up free game, because certain people may have the test, certain people may have this practice problem, but if it is there for everyone, it is up for grabs,” Jackman said. “So we just wanted to keep professors on their toes and keep the school on their toes and actually help students that may need it. Because at the end of the day, it’s for the GPA.”

Jackman presented Stoopidnotes.com to a panel of Florida Tech Sharks at a Shark Tank-style event hosted by the The Student Business Incubator on Nov. 17, and he won prize money for his presentation.

Thomas Haynie, an SBI assistant, shared his perspective on Stoopidnotes and the company’s founder.

“When we start the semester in the Student Business Incubator, there are many people with great ideas, but sometimes they lack the drive,” Haynie said. “With Kevin, it was obvious from the start that he was willing to put in the hard work needed to build his idea.”

Haynie said Stoopidnotes is the epitome of what we teach at the SBI: look around you, find a problem and then build the solution. “I look forward to working with Kevin during the spring to build Stoopidnotes into the best company in its field.”

Stoopidnotes has been met with mixed reviews.

“People seem to love [Stoopdnotes], but we have some people that aren’t really with us. So we are just trying to do our best and to do whatever we can to make students happy and to actually show them that we are here to help, and not like a destructive force on campus,” Jackman comments.

“Give it a chance,” Daniels added. “People are instantly seeing it and they are thinking, ‘cheating, cheating, cheating, cheating’ and it is not. It is not for cheating. It is to make your life easier. When you miss a class, you can get some notes.”

A common question asked by students looking to register for Stoopidnotes is, “Will I get in trouble for uploading?”

The answer given by Jackman and Daniels is this, “We talked with the dean of students and he along with other professors at Florida Tech believe this website is a great idea. We made our terms and agreements to protect students and to cover the honest students that use this website as an educational resource,” Jackman said. “So no, you won’t get in trouble because this is just a resource.”

To register, visit stoopidnotes.com.