This episode is a bit different. It's a live, unscripted working session with a founder, and I've only done one other earlier this year. Niels Hoven (@NielsHoven) is the founder and CEO of Mentava (https://mentava.com), a company building software to support fast learners. Eager kids are dramatically underserved by today's education system, and Niels created Mentava to allow students to achieve their potential. Prior to Mentava, Niels worked at Cloudflare, ClassDojo, and Pocket Gems, where he ran the highest-grossing mobile game in the world in 2011. He has a graduate degree in electrical engineering from UC Berkeley. This episode is brought to you by: Fin powerful AI Agent for all your customer service: https://Fin.Ai/Tim Shopify global commerce platform, providing tools to start, grow, market, and manage a retail business: https://Shopify.com/Tim Wealthfront high-yield cash account: https://Wealthfront.com/Tim New clients get 3.30% base APY from program banks + additional 0.75% boost for 3 months on your uninvested cash (max $150k balance). Terms and conditions apply. The Cash Account offered by Wealthfront Brokerage LLC (“WFB”) member FINRA/SIPC, not a bank. The base APY as of 1/30/26 is representative, can change, and requires no minimum. Tim Ferriss, a non-client, receives compensation from WFB for advertising and holds a non-controlling equity interest in the corporate parent of WFB, which creates a conflict of interest. Individual experiences and outcomes will differ. Instant withdrawals may be limited by your receiving firm and other factors. Investment advisory services provided by Wealthfront Advisers LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. Securities investments: not bank deposits, not bank-guaranteed or FDIC-insured, and may lose value. [00:00:00] Start. [00:01:34] What Mentava is—and the toddlers reading before age three. [00:08:50] Game design, slot-machine motivation, and lowering the hoop. [00:12:25] Tim's red pen: rewriting the bio and positioning. [00:17:40] The real problem: wasted early years, high-school pressure. [00:21:38] Learning at your own pace—and "what if you did nothing?" [00:27:19] Dog-fish, fish-dog: readiness, failed trials, and follow-ups. [00:32:56] The $500 price, school pilots, and videos-for-tuition scholarships. [00:38:24] Teach a kid to fish: selling relief, not nagging. [00:44:42] Viral posts, the culture-war trap, and why exaggeration is death. [00:52:09] Put the ask on top: investor updates and what actually converts. [00:56:40] The thirty-year phonics war—and it's not with teachers. [00:58:22] A $1,000 coupon, zero takers: why the referral bribe flopped. [01:05:26] Lead with the love letters: testimonials, homepage, and who's buying. [01:17:24] "No scam charges $500 a month": pricing and who you're not for. [01:30:37] Uncrowded channels and workshopping like a standup. [01:38:24] Don't let Amazon be your debutante ball: testing what sells. [01:42:57] Alpha School, the competitive map, and the eager investor. [01:44:54] Reaching the already-converted: be the painkiller, TiE, surround sound. [02:03:43] Niels's charge: advocate for your child, unapologetically. Tim Ferriss is one of Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Business People” and an early-stage tech investor/advisor in Uber, Facebook, Twitter, Shopify, Duolingo, Alibaba, and 50+ other companies. He is also the author of five #1 New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers: The 4-Hour Workweek, The 4-Hour Body, The 4-Hour Chef, Tools of Titans and Tribe of Mentors. The Observer and other media have named him “the Oprah of audio” due to the influence of his podcast, The Tim Ferriss Show, which has exceeded one billion downloads and been selected for “Best of Apple Podcasts” three years running. Sign up for "5-Bullet Friday" (Tim's free weekly email newsletter): https://go.tim.blog/5-bullet-friday-yt/ Follow the Tim Ferriss Podcast: https://tim.blog/podcast/ Visit the Tim Ferriss Blog: https://tim.blog/ Follow Tim Ferriss on Twitter: https://twitter.com/tferriss/ Follow Tim Ferriss on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/timferriss/ Like Tim Ferriss on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TimFerriss/