Generative Now | AI Builders on Creating the Future

Connor Zwick: Making Language Immersion Possible Through AI

Oct 12, 2023

Connor Zwick, founder of Flashcards+ and CEO/co-founder of Speak, discusses building successful tech companies, achieving product-market fit, and the impact of AI on language learning. They share their experiences with AI development, iterating on their product in Seoul while operating in San Francisco, and the importance of solving real problems. The podcast also explores the potential of AI in education and announces job opportunities at Speak.

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Introduction

00:00 • 2min

Growing Up in Wisconsin and Early Experiences with Computers

01:32 • 18min

The Early Days of AI and Cocoa Controller

19:28 • 20min

Building a Speech-Related Product and Achieving Product-Market Fit

39:36 • 23min

Enabling Immersive Language Learning with AI

01:02:44 • 2min

Solving Real Problems and Achieving Product Market Fit

01:04:59 • 4min

AI in Education: Beyond Language Teaching

01:08:33 • 9min

Job Opportunities, Product Trial, and Feedback

01:17:13 • 2min

Connor Zwick was a formidable founder on the day he graduated high school, and that hasn’t changed in the intervening years. He’s the founder of Flashcards+, which was acquired by Chegg, and CEO and co-founder of Speak, the cutting edge app using AI speech models to help users perfect their conversational English. In this episode, Connor Zwick sits down with host and Partner at Lightspeed Michael Mignano to talk software iteration, finding a useful use case, and building a new business abroad.

Episode Chapters

(00:00) - Intro to Connor Zwick

(04:48) - Building Flashcards in high school

(08:42) - Lessons from Flashcards product market fit pull and how to value for sale

(13:31) - The hype of becoming a Thiel Fellow

(23:45) - Sneaking into a Berkeley graduate course on reinforcement learning

(27:45) - John Schulman built OpenAI’s playground for a homework assignment

(36:07) - The big AI unlocks went to incumbents

(38:33) - ChatGPT proved that UI matters

(41:49) - Language learning models don’t need perfection to be viable

(46:40) - Speak is a painkiller for English language-learners, not a vitamin for English speakers

(57:09) - Operating in San Francisco while iterating in Seoul

(01:05:13) - What does product market fit feel like?

(01:09:30) - One-on-one tutors are the holy grail of education

(01:14:33) - The moving goalposts of AGI

(01:17:17) - Is Speak hiring?

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