Recently, we had the opportunity to speak with Andrea Pellini, Co-Founder, CEO, & Chairman of wearefreemovers. With a strong passion for international education and entrepreneurship, Andrea has leveraged his experience in venture capital and his academic background, which includes studies in International Management at Bocconi University, Banking & Finance at St. Gallen University, and Business Administration at the National University of Singapore.
Andrea co-founded wearefreemovers with his brother Fabio Pellini after identifying a gap in the higher education landscape, aiming to simplify and expand study abroad opportunities for students worldwide. Under Andrea’s leadership, wearefreemovers is transforming the study abroad process, making it more flexible and accessible for students across the globe.
The Beginning of wearefreemovers
We started the interview by asking, “Can you walk us through your professional journey and how it led to where you are today?”
Fabio Pellini, Co-Founder & CPO
Andrea Pellini shared, “My professional journey has been deeply connected to my passion for education and entrepreneurship. wearefreemovers began as a forum when my brother, Fabio Pellini (Co-Founder & CPO of wearefreemovers), and I identified a gap in the higher education landscape. Fabio wanted to study abroad as a free mover, but he quickly realized that there were no dedicated platforms for students like him, who weren’t part of traditional exchange programs. We saw this as an opportunity to create a solution for students seeking more flexibility in their study abroad experiences.
The forum’s early success led us to its transformation into a global platform that empowers students to apply to universities worldwide and access essential services like accommodation, insurance, and language testing. My academic background includes a double degree from Bocconi University and St. Gallen University, as well as a semester abroad at the National University of Singapore, which has shaped my approach. Working in Venture Capital provided valuable insights into building and scaling startups, influencing the growth of wearefreemovers. Currently, I am focused on expanding the platform to make international education more accessible for students globally.”
Overcoming Major Challenges
Reflecting on your career, what have been some of the most significant challenges you’ve faced, and how did you overcome them?
Andrea Pellini shared, “One of the most significant challenges I’ve faced was transforming wearefreemovers from a niche forum into a full-scale global platform. As we were pioneering a new concept – helping students navigate the free mover semester – we encountered a lack of awareness about this study abroad option. Many students were unfamiliar with the term ‘free mover,’ and universities often used different terms to describe similar programs. This created confusion for both students and institutions.
To overcome this, we focused on educating both sides about the benefits of the free mover semester and worked to standardize the terminology across the board. Partnering with key organizations like ETS has been crucial in amplifying our message and making the free mover program more widely understood. By building partnerships with institutions worldwide, we’ve been able to steadily grow awareness and trust in what we offer.
Another challenge has been balancing growth with the need to continuously improve the platform’s functionality. We’ve invested heavily in user experience, ensuring that students can easily apply to multiple universities and access vital services, while also making it efficient for universities to manage applications. These efforts have allowed us to scale the business while keeping both students and universities at the heart of what we do.”
Balancing Business Visions And Requirements
We were interested to learn more about the approaches adopted by Andrea Pellini to align his business visions and operational needs. So, we asked, “How do you balance long-term vision with short-term operational needs?”
Andrea Pellini replied, “Balancing long-term vision with short-term operational needs is crucial to ensuring steady growth while maintaining the core values and goals of the business. At Wearefreemovers, we are constantly focused on our long-term mission of making international education more accessible and removing barriers for students around the world. However, to realize that vision, we need to consistently deliver on our short-term objectives, such as improving platform functionality, expanding partnerships, and responding to the immediate needs of our users.
To achieve this balance, we rely on a strategy that allows us to be agile. Clear, measurable goals align with our roadmap, ensuring every feature – like our ‘easy apply’ system – enhances user experience while driving global scalability. Regular student and university feedback guides our actions. Ultimately, it’s about staying adaptable and being open to refining our long-term plans as the market evolves, without losing sight of the bigger picture.”
Current Offerings
Eager to learn more about the services offered by Andrea Pellini’s business, we asked, “Tell us more about your services and if you are planning to add something new in the future.”
Andrea Pellini shared, “At wearefreemovers, our services are designed to provide students with a seamless study abroad experience by offering flexibility and accessibility at every step. Our core services include direct university applications, where students can apply to multiple institutions with just one click through our ‘easy apply’ feature. This allows students to bypass traditional barriers like application fees and long waiting times for results.
Additionally, we offer access to essential services such as housing and insurance, which are critical for students planning to study in a foreign country. Our partnerships with expert providers ensure that students can secure accommodation and meet visa requirements well in advance of their departure.”
“One of our most exciting recent additions is language testing, made possible through our partnership with ETS, which allows students to book their TOEFL exams directly from our platform, who can also save money by benefiting from a 10% discount code. This integration simplifies the process for students who need to meet language requirements for their chosen universities.
Looking forward, we will implement new features that should simplify the process for students and universities. One such new feature will match courses offered by universities with choices made by students for their semester abroad. Credit and grade conversions will also be automated to ensure a smoother post-study abroad. An automatic learning agreement will be generated for students to print and for the two institutions to have this will streamline bureaucratic procedures. We also seek to increase the number of university partnerships across new regions to give students greater opportunities to study abroad.” Andrea added.
Adaptability To The Latest Trends
We further asked, “What methods do you use to analyze market trends, and how have these influenced your business decisions?”
Andrea Pellini mentioned, “At wearefreemovers, staying ahead of market trends is essential for understanding the evolving needs of both students and universities. We employ a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods to stay informed about industry shifts. On the quantitative side, we closely analyze user data from our platform to identify patterns in student preferences, popular destinations, and application trends. This helps us determine which services and features are most valued by our users, allowing us to refine and expand our offerings accordingly.
Additionally, we monitor global education reports, industry research, and emerging technology trends to understand broader shifts in the higher education landscape. We also rely on feedback from our university partners to gain insight into institutional needs and trends in student mobility.”
“These insights have directly influenced several key business decisions, such as expanding our partnerships in regions like South America and Asia, where demand for international education is rapidly growing. They have also led us to introduce new services, like language testing, and to develop features that enhance the user experience, such as the upcoming automatic course matching and credit conversion tools. By continuously analyzing market trends, we ensure that wearefreemovers remains relevant and responsive to the changing needs of students and universities alike.” He added.
Digital Transformation At Peak
To get a glimpse of Andrea Pellini’s perspective on the influence of digital evolution on businesses, we inquired, “How has digital transformation affected your business model?”
Andrea Pellini shared, “Digital transformation has been a key driver of wearefreemovers’ growth and evolution. From the very beginning, our platform has been designed to harness the power of digital tools to simplify the study abroad process for students and universities. The core of our business model relies on digital solutions that make it easy for students to apply to universities, secure housing, and insurance, and meet language requirements—all from a single online platform.
One of the most significant impacts of digital transformation has been the ability to automate processes that were traditionally time-consuming and bureaucratic. For example, our ‘easy apply’ feature allows students to apply to multiple universities with just one click, bypassing many of the complexities involved in the traditional application process. Digital tools have also enabled us to integrate services like language testing directly into our platform, giving students a seamless experience from application to acceptance.
As we continue to grow, we are leveraging emerging digital technologies to further enhance the user experience. Our upcoming features, such as automatic course matching and credit conversion, are prime examples of how we are using technology to make the study abroad process more efficient for students and universities alike. Overall, digital transformation is at the heart of everything we do, enabling us to scale our services globally while maintaining a high level of personalization and support for our users.”
Potential Trends Of The Future
Fast-paced digital transformation is redefining the way businesses perform. We asked, “What emerging technologies do you believe will have the most significant impact on your industry in the next five years?”
Andrea Pellini shared, “In the next five years, I believe several emerging technologies will have a transformative impact on the education industry, particularly in the study abroad sector. First, automation and artificial intelligence (AI) will continue to play a pivotal role in simplifying administrative processes, such as matching courses, converting credits, and automating learning agreements. These technologies can drastically reduce the time and effort required for both students and universities, making the study abroad experience more efficient and accessible.
Additionally, advancements in traveling technology will make global travel easier, faster, and cheaper for students. Gradually making the cost of travel affordable and offering flexible arrangements will encourage more students to engage in abroad studies. Data analytics will enable universities to understand what students want and to tailor their experiences and services.
Automation, AI, improved travel, and data analytics are revolutionizing education and have made international academic mobility easy and convenient for students. For wearefreemovers, data-driven insights will help us continue to refine our platform and offer even more relevant services to students based on their needs and aspirations.”
Empowering Employees
Ensuring employee satisfaction is equally paramount for a business. To learn Andrea’s perspective on this aspect, we inquired, “What strategies do you implement to maintain high levels of employee engagement and satisfaction?”
Andrea Pellini responded, “At wearefreemovers, maintaining high levels of engagement and satisfaction is essential, even with a small and close-knit team. One of the key strategies we use is ensuring open communication and collaboration. With a smaller team, it’s easier for everyone to have a direct hand in shaping the direction of the company. We make sure that each member is fully involved in decision-making processes and has the autonomy to contribute creatively and strategically to the business.
Flexibility is also a crucial part of our approach. We recognize the importance of balancing personal and professional responsibilities, so we prioritize creating an environment where team members can work flexibly and maintain a healthy work-life balance.”
“We place a huge emphasis on the personal development of our small teams through constant learning and growth. The upgrade of the platform and keeping abreast with education and technology is a process that never ends. Celebrating milestones and achieving things is what fuels morale and gives us a feeling that we have accomplished something together: a sense of shared achievement, which in turn leads to very high levels of engagement and satisfaction as we grow the company.” Andrea further mentioned.
Crafting A Lasting Legacy
We ended the session by asking, “How do you want your business to be remembered, and what steps are you taking to secure that legacy?”
Andrea Pellini concluded, “I want wearefreemovers to be remembered as a transformative platform that reshaped the way students pursue international education. Our goal is to empower students to take control of their study abroad experience, offering them the freedom to choose their ideal destinations, access essential services, and break down the traditional barriers that limit their opportunities. I envision wearefreemovers as a catalyst for making global education more flexible, accessible, and personalized for future generations.
To secure this legacy, we are committed to continuously improving our platform and expanding our services. By adding features like automatic course matching, and credit conversion, and creating a global network of university partnerships, we aim to make the study abroad process more efficient for both students and institutions. Additionally, we are focused on building long-term relationships with universities and organizations like ETS, which help amplify our mission on a global scale.
Ultimately, we are taking strategic steps to ensure that wearefreemovers remains at the forefront of international education, helping students achieve their academic and career goals while making the process as seamless and empowering as possible.”
Follow Andrea Pellini on LinkedIn.
Follow Fabio Pellini on LinkedIn.
Find wearefreemovers on LinkedIn, Instagram, and visit their website https://www.wearefreemovers.com/
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