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Paul Gollash, Founder and CEO of Voxy

By Kate Quinn on September 26, 2018

A ‘personalized and adaptive language learning program’, Voxy uses real-world content to reach learners of English as a Second (or Other) Language through online, social, micro, and mobile learning. Lessons are customized for students based on their language skill level and interests or hobbies. Voxy’s main idea is that students will learn more effectively if they’re interested in the content; scaffolding’s provided through quick accessible links to key vocabulary, and end-of-lesson assessments are given in a multiple choice format. This authentic and accessible material and platform can reach students who are unable to attend, or simply not interested in, traditional language learning.

The Wikipedia page for Paul Gollash contains little information about him, especially concerning his personal life. His inspiration for Voxy comes from his own experience living and language-learning in Chile where he began an import/export company. After completing an MBA at the University of Chicago, he worked as a management consultant and with Virgin. His professional experience comes from business and management rather than education; this short article details his beginning of the company with little technical or pedagogical expertise. What might be most important in Voxy’s development and success, however, is Mr. Gollash’s positionality of his experience as a learner – rather than a teacher – to create and cultivate a truly learner (or customer) -centric product. In a 2012 interview with Venture Studio he talks about leaving his job at Virgin with $600,000 in startup funds to pursue Voxy, demonstrating his ability to take calculated risks and navigate ambiguous situations. He later mentions that ‘hiring is absolutely critical; get the best, smartest people you can’.

Directly right of Mr. Gollash’s profile on the About Us page of Voxy.com is the Chief Education Officer; Katie Nielson is an applied linguist with a PhD. She stresses the importance of relevant and interesting content in a Voxy promotional video that ends with an authentic student testimonial. There are fifty people on Our Team; the Board of Directors, (five people, including Mr. Gollash) all have experience in EdTech companies – Rosetta Stone, ReThink Education, K-12. There’s an Academic Advisory Panel (further cementing the importance of Academics and Education), and a list of Investors.

One interesting piece that popped up in my research was a negative review of Paul Gollash as a CEO on GlassDoor. It appears that Mr. Gollash replied personally to this negative review two weeks after it was posted. This brings me to what might be the most important characteristic of a successful entrepreneur: resilience. It’s one thing to understand that a venture might fail; it’s another to be personally attacked by people you’ve hired. While it’s easy to see that startups can be exciting, passionate adventures, staying the course through the growing pains must be a trying and draining experience. The skills needed to launch a company aren’t necessarily the same as what’s needed to expand or sustain it; seeing a company past its infancy requires stamina and grit.

(Here’s a more recent article on Paul Gollash and Voxy. As a tie-in to last week’s Pitch Pool, here’s Paul Gollash’s Voxy pitch at theTechCrunch Disrupt Startup Battlefield.)

 

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30 Sep Posted on Paul Gollash, Founder and CEO of Voxy

I've noticed a pattern across most of the founders that have been selected for this activity. Many of them do not have backgrounds in education. You pin-pointed a really important reason why that might be. Many of these entrepreneurs are approaching these problems from the learners perspective and not from the teachers. I went back and looked at the profile I did for my assignment of John Baker. He didn't have a background in education and he also approached his problem from the perspective of a student. I've noticed this as an Instructional Designer that other designers can get stuck in a bubble. They add bells and whistles to the courses they design because they are exciting to them as an educator. What they often fail to realize is that from the perspective of the student elaborate course designs can be frustrating, distracting, and not with their effort. I could see how this could give non-educators an edge when starting education ventures. Someone with a non-education background might have a much stronger user experience focus that could lead to a stronger product.

30 Sep
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Ryan Day @rjday

I've noticed a pattern across most of the founders that have been selected for this activity. Many of them do not have backgrounds in education. You pin-pointed a really important reason why that might be. Many of these entrepreneurs are approaching these problems from the learners perspective and not from the teachers. I went back and looked at the profile I did for my assignment of John Baker. He didn't have a background in education and he also approached his problem from the perspective of a student. I've noticed this as an Instructional Designer that other designers can get stuck in a bubble. They add bells and whistles to the courses they design because they are exciting to them as an educator. What they often fail to realize is that from the perspective of the student elaborate course designs can be frustrating, distracting, and not with their effort. I could see how this could give non-educators an edge when starting education ventures. Someone with a non-education background might have a much stronger user experience focus that could lead to a stronger product.

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30 Sep Posted on Paul Gollash, Founder and CEO of Voxy

Hi Kate. Thanks for sharing this comprehensive review on Voxy and Paul Goulart. Back in Brazil, a representative from Voxy tried to partner with the Binational Center I worked at, and the product they presented is indeed really interesting. I still remember them demonstrating how the app creates song exercises based on the list of songs you have on your phone. I specially liked your comment on the connection between success and resilience. I agree it's an important characteristic of successful entrepreneurs for it gives them the ability to overcome adversity, learn from it, and push through to new heights.

30 Sep
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Lilian Marchesoni @lilianm

Hi Kate. Thanks for sharing this comprehensive review on Voxy and Paul Goulart. Back in Brazil, a representative from Voxy tried to partner with the Binational Center I worked at, and the product they presented is indeed really interesting. I still remember them demonstrating how the app creates song exercises based on the list of songs you have on your phone. I specially liked your comment on the connection between success and resilience. I agree it's an important characteristic of successful entrepreneurs for it gives them the ability to overcome adversity, learn from it, and push through to new heights.

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28 Sep Posted on Paul Gollash, Founder and CEO of Voxy

Hi Kate, Thanks for your review of Voxy and overview of Paul Gollash. I found Gollash’s venture comparative to Luis von Ahn’s Duolingo's objective – to make learning languages easier and more engaging. The difference between the two being Voxy takes a task-based learning approach, vice Duolingo’s game-based approach. Voxy’s focus is also primarily helping the international market improve their English language skills. It’s clear that Gollash surrounded himself with the right team and experience to accomplish his venture’s objectives, as Voxy’s current client base includes, McGill University, AT&T, Walmart, and Melia Hotels Intl. No doubt these companies have done their due diligence with regard to employee professional development training, which speaks to the quality of Voxy’s product offered. I do agree with your comment and Lori’s concurrence that resilience is important in a venture leader/CEO, however I also hesitate to recommend him as a role model if his own employees don’t see him as such. This could certainly be a minority opinion within his team, however I’d be curious to learn more about his background and the mission behind Voxy before recommending him as a role model for budding entrepreneurs, or before theoretically investing at its seed funding stage back in 2010. There is also no mention of cost of use readily available on the product site that I’ve been able to easily uncover. Call me a skeptic, however I agree with your observation Kate that it’s tricky to track information down online for both his background and Voxy's 'fine print', as I was digging around as well! Nonetheless, you’ve made it work as the profile and venture description were an interesting read! Thanks again for sharing Kate, Reg

28 Sep
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Reg Surette @rsurette

Hi Kate, Thanks for your review of Voxy and overview of Paul Gollash. I found Gollash’s venture comparative to Luis von Ahn’s Duolingo's objective – to make learning languages easier and more engaging. The difference between the two being Voxy takes a task-based learning approach, vice Duolingo’s game-based approach. Voxy’s focus is also primarily helping the international market improve their English language skills. It’s clear that Gollash surrounded himself with the right team and experience to accomplish his venture’s objectives, as Voxy’s current client base includes, McGill University, AT&T, Walmart, and Melia Hotels Intl. No doubt these companies have done their due diligence with regard to employee professional development training, which speaks to the quality of Voxy’s product offered. I do agree with your comment and Lori’s concurrence that resilience is important in a venture leader/CEO, however I also hesitate to recommend him as a role model if his own employees don’t see him as such. This could certainly be a minority opinion within his team, however I’d be curious to learn more about his background and the mission behind Voxy before recommending him as a role model for budding entrepreneurs, or before theoretically investing at its seed funding stage back in 2010. There is also no mention of cost of use readily available on the product site that I’ve been able to easily uncover. Call me a skeptic, however I agree with your observation Kate that it’s tricky to track information down online for both his background and Voxy's 'fine print', as I was digging around as well! Nonetheless, you’ve made it work as the profile and venture description were an interesting read! Thanks again for sharing Kate, Reg

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26 Sep Posted on Paul Gollash, Founder and CEO of Voxy

Showing resilience in an online world that tends to be incredibly negative is an entrepreneurial win. This platform though sharing a market with other platforms stands out as it comes from the learner perspective rather than the teacher perspective. A novel angle on an existing issue.

26 Sep
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Lori Jones @lyj503

Showing resilience in an online world that tends to be incredibly negative is an entrepreneurial win. This platform though sharing a market with other platforms stands out as it comes from the learner perspective rather than the teacher perspective. A novel angle on an existing issue.

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