September 23, 2024 • 34min
Pattern Breakers
Niels Hoven, founder and CEO of Mentava, joins Mike Maples Jr. to discuss his educational technology startup. Mentava aims to accelerate K-12 education, with its first product focused on teaching two-year-olds to read at a second-grade level. The company's ambitious goal is to ensure every child has the opportunity to learn as fast as they are capable, addressing a growing frustration with the current education system's focus on closing achievement gaps rather than helping high-achieving students reach their full potential.
Niels Hoven explains Mentava's focus on accelerated K-12 education, highlighting the disconnect between modern education policy and the goal of helping every child reach their potential. He states:
"A lot of parents don't realize that the goal of modern education policy is not actually to help every child reach their potential. The goal of modern education policy is to close gaps between high achievers and struggling students." - Niels Hoven
Hoven shares his personal motivation for starting Mentava:
"I want to make sure that my kids are having their learning needs met in school and the specific way that it happened for me." - Niels Hoven
Hoven discusses the unexpected launch of Mentava's product:
"Haters do the best marketing." - Niels Hoven
Hoven explains why Mentava's mission resonated so strongly with parents:
"I think there is a growing understanding, especially from parents of high achieving kids, that schools are not supporting their kids in the way that they thought they were." - Niels Hoven
The discussion explores how Mentava is more than just a product, but a movement:
"We want the customers right now who are excited about our mission and are going to cut us a little bit of slack in where the product is right now." - Niels Hoven
Hoven and Maples discuss Mentava's approach as a disruptive innovation:
"Maybe we're disrupting school a little bit, but I'd say what we're really disrupting is tutoring." - Niels Hoven
The conversation explores how Mentava avoids direct competition with the K-12 system:
"If we can sell to them and get that conversation started early and then start having a conversation about you thought that your kid was not being left that far behind by the current backwards school policy. Now that you see what they're capable of, what all these other kids are doing now, now maybe we can, now maybe we can force some of these conversations about how much, how we've been failing these kids by not meeting their learning needs." - Niels Hoven
Hoven discusses broader challenges in education reform:
"It's not fair to my child to say, you just have to be here and sit here and be bored for, you know, 18 years of your childhood, because, you know, that's, that's your duty." - Niels Hoven
The discussion touches on how Mentava is demonstrating what many consider impossible:
"When I say, you know, kids should be doing calculus in 8th grade, kids should be reading at age two, et cetera, et cetera, most people are going to hear that and be like, this person is crazy. He's just making stuff up that isn't possible. But then you start to seeing it happen for real, and then people start to realize, oh, this is possible. This is the world that I want to live in." - Niels Hoven
Hoven acknowledges the challenges Mentava faces and discusses the company's future:
"I think working on a mission that has impact that you believe in, just so many good things come out of that. It makes fundraising easier, it makes hiring easier, it makes marketing easier. People get excited about what you're building and want to be part of that movement." - Niels Hoven
Mentava represents a bold attempt to disrupt the education system by providing accelerated learning opportunities for young children. By focusing on teaching two-year-olds to read and avoiding direct competition with the K-12 system, the company has found a unique approach to addressing the needs of high-achieving students. While challenges remain in terms of market size and adoption, Mentava's early traction demonstrates the power of a clear mission that resonates with frustrated parents. As the company continues to develop its products and demonstrate results, it has the potential to spark important conversations about how to best meet the learning needs of all students, particularly those capable of accelerated learning.