Mentava's software-based tutor teaches kids as young as 2 to read. Unlike edutainment apps that are designed to be screen-based babysitters, Mentava's goal is to get kids to a 2nd grade reading level as quickly and efficiently as possible.
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Mentava’s story starts with the pandemic. All of a sudden, my wife and I became two working parents trying to share a 600 square foot 1-bedroom apartment with 3 kids, no childcare, no playgrounds.
My kids have always loved learning, but there was no way I could give them each the individual instruction they needed. So I focused on teaching them to teach themselves.
What surprised me was how well it worked. It was also much harder than it needed to be.
Even the best education software I could find had serious bugs, nonsensical UX, key concepts that the curriculum skipped, frustratingly sudden jumps in difficulty, bad adaptive engines - all problems that would be easily dealt with under the close supervision of a skilled teacher, but insurmountable for a child without that support.
As I struggled to support my kids’ learning needs, it was clear the world needed genuinely educational software that “just works” and allows a child to learn at their own pace.
And by “learn at their own pace”, what we mean is “as fast as they want to go”.
Taking a step back, why is this so important? What problem are we solving for?
Many parents don’t realize that modern education policy isn’t about helping every child reach their potential. The goal of modern education policy is closing the gap between struggling students and high achievers. It’s an important goal, but the end result is policymakers implementing universally unpopular policies that force teachers and schools to hold high achieving kids back.
Mentava’s mission is to accelerate learning. If we can build software that “just works”, and allows a child to learn at their own pace, we can provide options to kids whose learning needs aren’t being met by their schools.
We believe that every child deserves to have their learning needs met. They should be challenged, and have the opportunity to learn something new every day.
But if kids can’t read, they can’t learn, so that’s our first goal: teach kids to read as quickly and as effectively as possible. Compared to private school, or a personal tutor, our software-based learn-to-read tutor is more effective, more convenient, and cheaper. And it’s available now, for preschoolers..
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@nielshoven It's been amazing to watch you build this. Excited to use it for our own kid when they're old enough!
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@cushmachine Thanks so much! This is just the starting line, we'll have some pretty awesome stuff cooked up when your kids are ready!
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@nielshoven excited to show off what we’ve built so far!
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@chris_kot It's been an awesome journey and we're just getting started!
@nielshoven Making reading fun is critical, I see a lot of kids are spending more and absurdly more time on screens scrolling without getting anything to learn.
This can absolutely change the narrative of things(hopefully)
All the best guys!
Really excited to try Mentava with our kids.
$500/month isn't cheap - is that per kid or per account?
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@caleb_delbegio That's per child. Parents have told us that we're more effective than the live tutor they were using before us. I think we're the best, but there are cheaper options, like the 100 Easy Lessons book, Reading Eggs, or Reading . com,
@caleb_delbegio@nielshoven Similar thought here. It may be more effective than a tutor...but I don't have to oversee the tutor. Kids who are able to read can use tablets independently, but kids that are 2 or 3 are not using them along. If nothing else, they accidentally press buttons, turn off the device by holding it wrong, etc. Comparing to a tutor doesn't resonate for me (and the 100 Easy Lessons book is 15 bucks per family, one time—not even in the same solar system as $500/mo).
I appreciate the desire to price for value, and to position as a premium product. It could work for products for older kids, who can work independently and whose learning can be subsidized by backpack grants/etc. But when I see $500/mo as the price for this product, it makes me thing "I'm never going to buy that thing because even if they run a 50% off sale it's still too expensive." (And if you run sales more than 50%, then your rack rates are illusory/deceptive, and I don't want to be your customer.)
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Kids move at the speed of light while the education system seems always outdated. It has been great to have contributed to the journey of building this app. The future of education can be much better, fulfilling and delightful if it's with the aid of the right tools. So much ahead!
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@ale_de_lio Thanks for being there from the beginning!
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I've had a blast building something that is already benefiting smart kids, who need agency over their learning more than ever. Let's get this to more people 🔥
Tried signing up yesterday but the website wouldn't let me complete. Seems to be working today but then when I got to the payment screen it's not taking the producthunt99 discount code shown above. Is it no longer valid?
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Really smart and needed product idea. Been following Niels and Mentava for a bit - love the thinking that goes into the pedagogy / building of the app.
One of the few edtech apps that optimises for learning rather than edutainment/appified-babysitting.
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@samuel_holston 🫡 We spent the last 2 years trying to rethink educational software from this perspective! It's true that most families value edutainment (their popularity reflects this), but we believe there's a subsection of parents who are instead looking to surround their kids with focused learning apps.
Fun fact, we find that most kids get tired out after ~30 mins of Mentava a day, because they're constantly recalling/blending words and not mindlessly consuming content
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@samuel_holston Thanks for your support! We need more people like you working in education!
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So excited about this product! I have a one year old who follows my finger while reading to her before bedtime, and sometimes tries to sound out the phonetics. Will collectively enjoy this next year of growth and fun without mandatory educational screentime, but she'll be in the Mentava mines learning to read soon enough 😈
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@ryan_gentry2 Can't wait to welcome her to the Mentava family! And our software's going to be even better in a year or two
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