Bootstrapping an EdTech Startup with a Paycheck to over $5M: Karyn Koven, CEO of LanguageBird (Part 4)

Sramana Mitra: And what were the numbers? 10 people in the beginning, and then how did that grow?

Bootstrapping an EdTech Startup with a Paycheck to over $5M: Karyn Koven, CEO of LanguageBird (Part 3)

Sramana Mitra: Who were these people that you got an audience with?

Karyn Koven: I think it was because I had a background, and it was based on my reputation amongst other counselors and school officials.

Sramana Mitra: They were referring students to you?

Bootstrapping an EdTech Startup with a Paycheck to over $5M: Karyn Koven, CEO of LanguageBird (Part 2)

Sramana Mitra: Let’s go back to the beginning of LanguageBird. When you were thinking about doing this project, were you already thinking of it as an accredited language school that would serve as supplemental education?

Bootstrapping an EdTech Startup with a Paycheck to over $5M: Karyn Koven, CEO of LanguageBird (Part 1)

Karyn has built a technology-enabled business that is already over $5M in revenue and sits at the cusp of a tremendous scaling opportunity by leveraging AI. If you are mulling AI startup ideas, this kind of tech-enabled service that is fully optimized with AI could create tremendous value.

Bootstrapping an AI Startup to $10M from Boise, Idaho: Christian Perry, CEO of Undetectable AI (Part 5)

Sramana Mitra: And you said you started mostly with small businesses and gradually built the enterprise business as well as the licensing and white labeling business. So in the small business category, what was your go-to-market strategy? How were you acquiring customers? How were the customers finding you?

Bootstrapping an AI Startup to $10M from Boise, Idaho: Christian Perry, CEO of Undetectable AI (Part 4)

Sramana Mitra: Let’s get to the exciting Undetectable AI story. What was going on in your mind? What problem did you want to solve, knowing that ChatGPT was taking off around you?

Bootstrapping an AI Startup to $10M from Boise, Idaho: Christian Perry, CEO of Undetectable AI (Part 3)

Sramana Mitra: Okay. What happens to that? How did you get the venture capital in Boise, Idaho?

Christian Perry: There are a couple of venture capital firms here in Boise, and there’s definitely a lot more moving in. The startup ecosystem has grown quite a bit.

Bootstrapping an AI Startup to $10M from Boise, Idaho: Christian Perry, CEO of Undetectable AI (Part 2)

Sramana Mitra: Got it. You said while you were doing your degree at Boise State, which took you eight years, you did two businesses on top of that?