Reading as the foundation for learning

When Nolan first picked up a Harry Potter book in sixth grade, he fell in love with reading. Even today, as the CEO of a tech startup, he reads “30-45 minutes a day, even as a founder.” For Nolan, reading “changed my life” by feeding his curiosity, and he was determined to “instill that into my kids.”

Nolan’s children, Kevin and Aspen, were attending local Montessori schools, but Nolan felt the schools weren’t meeting their unique needs. “As long as my kids follow their passion, where their curiosity takes them, I could care less about their grades in class. But the bedrock of that is, you have to be a really good reader,” he explained.

Nolan discovered Mentava on Twitter and was drawn to how our curriculum used “this tried and true method of how to read” while enhancing it with technology. He saw it as the perfect fit: “I have a hard take that kids need to be digitally native. They're in the computer lab every Monday at school [already]. This is where technology can make learning how to read significantly better.”

Transitioning to Mentava

From the moment Nolan tried Mentava, he knew it was a game-changer. “I realized on day one. The magic moment is right away with how you make approaching sounds super easy for a 4 or 5 year old.”

Before Mentava, Nolan had been using a book that required him to act as the teacher. While effective, it was demanding: “The book requires 20 minutes of fully engaged parent time. My son was running out of steam at minute 11,” he shared. Balancing this with the demands of running a startup made it unsustainable.

“Transitioning from the book to the software was such a delightful experience […] I'm 40 percent engaged as a parent [with Mentava]. That's a dream experience for me.” With our software’s structured approach, Nolan ensured that Kevin and Aspen practiced daily. “The ability to pick up right where you [left off] is so easy. My kids are reading every day, and you guys have nailed it with the bite-sized lessons.”

As the kids got “better every day”, Nolan made their successes a family celebration. “We dance, we make it super enjoyable in our house every time they complete a level.” By this point, Nolan had no doubts about Mentava’s impact. “Fifteen out of ten, it’s the absolute best way my kids have learned to read. And we’ve tried many, many things.”

Nolan signed up in April, so he experienced all early iterations of our product and observed how “you guys have nailed the core value proposition and continued to make it better.” (probably unnecessary)

Building confidence

Kevin completed the Mentava curriculum in early November, 7 months after starting. Near the end of the program, Nolan began noticing a deeper impact beyond reading skills. “What Mentava is actually doing is building confidence. That is probably the number one value of the app.” He marveled at Kevin’s progress: “He started flying through stories, and I [just thought], ‘this is sick.’”

Now, Kevin is tackling leveled reader books. “He’s reading everything now. Before, he didn’t have the core ability [to even attempt] to sound out words […] You’ve given him confidence to try. And it’s happening everywhere.”

Kevin started kindergarten this fall. “I give you guys all the credit in the world. He's a good f***ing reader and he's probably the best reader in his class.”

Mentava has also helped the family embrace the joy of learning. “[Mentava] has helped our kids learn to read and enjoy learning to read, more than anything else that we’ve tried.” Thinking ahead, Nolan chuckled, “I don’t want to go through the school system. I just want to pay you to [teach us].”

Aspen, a year younger than Kevin, is already 75% of the way through Mentava. When asked about how he feels now, Nolan didn’t hesitate: “Everything changed. Like, you guys changed our lives. There’s not a world where I would attempt to teach a child to read without your app.”