The AI Tutor That Makes Kids Actually Think | E2298 – This Week in Startups

The AI Tutor That Makes Kids Actually Think | E2298

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Today’s show:

*Schools teach kids to memorize formulas. AI helps them skip thinking entirely. Brilliant founder Sue Khim joins TWiST to tell us how her new AI tutor, Koji, uses the Socratic Method to help students solve complex problems on their own. Find out why she says “People aren’t anti-AI. They’re anti-being replaced and anti-slop.”

PLUS Jason’s take on the VC horror stories going around X… and his own anecdote about the tenacity and passion of legendary investor John Doerr.

Guest:

Sue Khim on X: https://x.com/suekhim

Brilliant: https://brilliant.org/

Viral Koji launch video: https://x.com/suekhim/status/2060378988606878147

Relevant Links:

Viral Greg Isenberg post about VCs: https://x.com/gregisenberg/status/2061794787825479818

Travis Kalanick’s story: https://x.com/travisk/status/2062224472426365045

Matthew Prince’s stories: https://x.com/eastdakota/status/2062860530360959273

John Doerr on X: https://x.com/johndoerr

Roelof Botha on X: https://x.com/roelofbotha

Michael Moritz on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelmoritz/

Mohr Davidow Ventures: https://mdv.com/

Jason’s book “Angel: How to Invest in Technology Startups”: https://www.amazon.com/Angel-Invest-Technology-Startups-Timeless-Investor/dp/0062560700

Timestamps:

0:00 Sue Khim's Alltuition origin story

1:41 Plaud: If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at https://Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off!

4:10 Brilliant: from launch to product market pull

10:46 Northwest Registered Agent - Get more when you start your business with Northwest. In 10 clicks and 10 minutes, you can form your company and walk away with a real business identity — Learn more at https://northwestregisteredagent.com/twist

15:08 Pricing against tutors, not apps

19:25 LinkedIn Jobs - Hire right, the first time. Post your first job and get $100 off towards your job post at https://LinkedIn.com/twist

21:22 Koji demo

24:11 Keeping Brilliant local while expanding

30:22 Shopify - Turn those What Ifs into sales with the e-commerce platform powering millions of businesses. Sign up for your $1-per-month trial today at https://shopify.com/twist

40:10 Every founder has a VC horror story

44:33 John Doerr went the extra mile to hear JCal's pitch

52:55 The LAUNCH investment strategy

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