Why so many schools started telling kids to guess at words instead of sounding them out
2025How an approach to teaching reading took hold in American classrooms.
Niels Hoven
I’m the founder and CEO of Mentava, where we’re building early literacy software for preschoolers.
I live outside Seattle with my wife and four kids. I care a lot about excellence in education. Kids who learn fast deserve to be supported, not slowed down.
Before Mentava, I worked at Cloudflare, ClassDojo, and Pocket Gems, where I ran the world’s highest-grossing mobile game in 2011. I have a graduate degree in electrical engineering from UC Berkeley.
Selected writing
How a hater accelerated my startup’s timeline by a year, overnight
2024How a viral argument brought us customers—and moved our launch forward by a year.
How I got 50 high-profile angel investors to join our seed round
2022The story behind Mentava’s seed round.
Watercooler moments
2018How to design products that generate word of mouth.
Stop letting the data decide
2018What working in games taught me about the power—and limits—of letting metrics guide product decisions.
Interviews
The Tim Ferriss Show
2026Teaching a three-year-old to read and rethinking education. Tim Ferriss coaches me on building Mentava.
Stossel TV
2026The reading wars: John Stossel interviews me about how children learn to read.
Pattern Breakers
2024Mike Maples, Jr. interviews me about teaching two-year-olds to read like second graders and the origins of Mentava.
Behind the Craft
2024Peter Yang interviews me about why K–12 education is broken for high-achieving kids, and what parents can do about it.
Social media
When “reading” means guessing at words
X · 2026Why teachers were told not to teach sounding out
X · 2026Why teach reading before kindergarten?
X · 2025Eliminating honors classes in the name of equality
X · 2025Questioning the research behind education
X · 2024Ranking reading software
TikTok · 2025Introducing our Alphabet Sounds book
TikTok · 2024Education vs edutainment
TikTok · 2024