Overview
Save My Exams is a UK-based edtech business delivering exam resources and support to schools and parents. MDT built them a team of high-performing finance and customer support talent in South Africa - enabling the scale-up to break through a capacity ceiling and continue on its impressive growth trajectory.
The challenge
Rapid growth is a good problem to have - but it still creates pressure. For Save My Exams, growth and seasonal peaks created two key challenges for customer support and finance.
On the customer support side, the lean UK-based customer support team reached a natural capacity ceiling - raising concerns about potential coverage gaps during peak periods, holidays, and leave.
At the same time, Save My Exams was looking to shift their efforts from reactive support to proactive customer success for school accounts - which meant they needed additional capacity.
On the finance side, the company had been using an external London-based provider for basic bookkeeping, but felt the outsourced team never got close enough to the work to deliver the kind of value that justified the cost.
Simply adding headcount was not enough. Save My Exams needed additional team members who could expand capacity across customer support and bookkeeping - without paying London costs.
Our approach
For Save My Exams, building an offshore team in South Africa was a no-brainer, because of the UK-aligned working hours, cultural fit, and native-level English.
MDT worked closely with Save My Exams to outline the exact specifications for both the finance and customer support roles. Out of hundreds of CVs, we ultimately shortlisted four customer support candidates and four bookkeeper candidates.
For the finance role, we prioritised smart Bookkeepers with the capacity to learn quickly and the critical thinking skills to challenge outdated processes. For customer support, we looked for candidates with a track record of high CSAT scores and strong first-contact resolution.
Within a month, both roles were filled with South African talent who continue to bring value to the business.
Our impact
MDT helped Save My Exams continue growing by building a high-performing embedded team that has integrated seamlessly into their business.
The partnership delivered:
- Expanded in‑house bookkeeping capacity, which reduced reliance on an expensive, lightly‑engaged UK firm.
- Increased customer success capacity to supplement the UK team and provide reliable coverage during sabbaticals, sick leave, peak periods, and holidays.
- Overall cost savings of 48%, compared to the average cost of London-based hires.
For Save My Exams, this partnership was about more than just reducing costs or adding headcount. It was about having the capacity to grow with confidence - and that can only happen when you have the right people in each role.
