Toko (YC W22) is on a mission to make English fluency accessible to the world's 1.5B English learners. With our app, learners talk with an AI like it's a real person, and get feedback on their grammar/pronunciation.
We are in the top 3 apps for education in Taiwan, with ~3k paying subscribers (and growing fast)! Many users have reported landing new jobs and confidently moving overseas since using Toko.
Founding team has 10+ years of ed-tech experience at MIT, Quizlet, Codecademy (+ experience at Google, Palantir, and Stripe).
As a Founding Engineer, you’ll have an outsized equity stake and impact on the product, culture & future of language learning.
Toko (YC W22) is on a mission to make English fluency accessible to the world's 1.5B English learners. With our app, learners talk with an AI like it's a real person, and get feedback on their grammar/pronunciation.
We have > 2k paying subscribers in Taiwan & Hong Kong and are growing fast! Many users have reported landing new jobs and confidently moving overseas since using Toko.
Founding team has 10+ years of ed-tech experience at MIT, Quizlet, Codecademy (+ experience at Google, Palantir, and Stripe).
As a Founding Engineer, you’ll have an outsized equity stake and impact on the product, culture & future of language learning.
Toko (YC W22) is on a mission to help the world's 1.5B English learners become fluent. With our app, learners talk with an AI like it's a real person, and get feedback on their grammar/pronunciation.
We have > 1k paying subscribers in Taiwan & Hong Kong – many have reported landing new jobs and confidently moving overseas since using Toko.
Founders have 10+ years of ed-tech experience at MIT, Quizlet, Codecademy (+ Google, Palantir experience).
As Founding Product Engineer, you’ll have an outsized equity stake and impact on the product, team culture & future of language learning.
I love the distinction between incremental and transformative learning. Personally, I've experienced the most transformative learning through working with a coach - a 3rd party who offers the space for reflective engagement, new perspectives, and experimentation. Much of this is tough to do on our own because we get stuck in the same mindsets and patterns of behavior. A coach helps articulate what's going on in a new light, uncovers blindspots, and holds us accountable for taking action, ultimately fueling transformative learning.
(Side note: I'm on a mission to spread the power of coaching by making it easier to find the right coach: https://uplevel.coach/ Happy to chat with anyone interested in learning more!)
Thanks for your reply. I admit I oversimplified the distinction in this article for the sake of conciseness.
There is certainly a sizable overlap between coaching and certain types of therapy. Perhaps a bigger distinction I failed to mention is the underlying assumptions:
In therapy, therapist and client traditionally form an expert-subject relationship. The assumption is that the client is somehow “damaged,” lower functioning, or in crisis, and the the goal is to “fix” the problem.
In coaching, coach and client form a comutual or cocreative partnership. The assumption is that the client is naturally creative, resourceful and whole, and the goal is to empower the client to take action towards their goals.
(Based on perceptions across professionals in both [1]. I’m sure not all therapists and coaches fall cleanly into these buckets.)
I don’t mean to claim that coaching is superior to therapy; each provides its own value for different situations. Anyone experiencing depression or other mental health issues should certainly consult a licensed therapist.
I do believe, however, that coaching is an underrated option for many seeking support on personal growth. I recognize there are plenty of coaches that practice woo out there, but there are also plenty of skilled, trained coaches who make a big difference in people’s lives. And I aim to make it easier to find those coaches through Uplevel (https://uplevel.coach).
I’d be curious if you have any evidence to show that coaching is strictly less effective than therapy.
First off let me apologize, I hadn't realised that the author of the piece was the submitter, I'd have been more careful in my wording otherwise (Though it'd probably grace me to be more careful even if the author isn't present)
I do think coaching has a place, in fact I reckon most people would be better served with coaching than with therapy. I think the main stumbling point I have with this article is that it seems to present coaching as better-than while simultaneously misrepresenting therapy making it look worse.
If you have a brain problem that needs fixing then therapy is the right way to tackle it. That's also why therapy is very much fix-oriented. It doesn't fit everyones needs for sure.
I fully disagree that therapy is an expert-subject relationship. If your therapist treats you as damaged or inferior you need to find a new therapist. I've sure walked out on a lot of therapists before finding one I could get along with. I feel a lot of the same things go for coaches, not every coach is a fit for every person either.
I'm sorry I called coaching "woo", that's a rather blunt way to put it. Something about the article tickled my bullshit detector in a way that made it seem disingenuous to me, but maybe that's just the way Uplevel gets plugged towards the end, I'm not sure.
Honestly probably the only "real" difference between coaching and therapy is the licensing. There's no reason a coach can't apply the same techniques as a therapist, but the same goes the other way, There's no reason a therapist can't apply coaching techniques either!
I'm now thoroughly convinced you're sincere however, and my previous comment was simply the result of a miscommunication. I commend you for trying to make the world a tiny bit better -- even though there's a profit motive involved ;)
I do think it might be a good idea for your company to have either a few therapists on-staff or at least on speed-dial so to speak so if one of your coaches runs into someone who needs problem-fixing instead of coaching you've got somewhere to send them. It'd be rather awful if e.g. heavily depressed people sign up and either don't get the care they need or no care at all.
Anyways I don't really have a good conclusion to this ramble, I wish you the best of luck in your endeavours.
- The line between coaching and therapy can be blurry, especially as many coaches practice therapy techniques and vice versa.
- It’s hard to find both a good therapist and a good coach.
- There is no official license for coaching, which makes it even harder to find a good coach.
I appreciate the suggestion re: providing a quick referral to a therapist if that’s the solution a user requires. Will definitely keep in mind as this expands.
Thank you for the thoughtful, candid feedback and support!
Toko (YC W22) is on a mission to make English fluency accessible to the world's 1.5B English learners. With our app, learners talk with an AI like it's a real person, and get feedback on their grammar/pronunciation.
We are in the top 3 apps for education in Taiwan, with ~3k paying subscribers (and growing fast)! Many users have reported landing new jobs and confidently moving overseas since using Toko.
Founding team has 10+ years of ed-tech experience at MIT, Quizlet, Codecademy (+ experience at Google, Palantir, and Stripe).
As a Founding Engineer, you’ll have an outsized equity stake and impact on the product, culture & future of language learning.
JD: https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/toko/jobs/hXNmmpi-foun...
Get in touch: jen[at]tokotutor.com