1. Describe the problem:
We are learning English for very specific professional goals, but all existing "professional" courses are too generic and therefore useless.
Example 1: My friend is preparing to work as a barista in a vegan coffee shop in Los Angeles. She doesn't need "Business English" or even a general "service industry" course. She needs to practice dialogues about "single-origin oat milk latte," "adjusting the grind for a V60 pour-over," and explaining the difference between "almond" and "macadamia milk" to the point of automaticity. Such a course doesn't exist anywhere.
Example 2: I'm a startup founder preparing for a pitch to Y Combinator investors. A general "presentation skills" course won't work for me. I need to practice answering specific venture capital questions: "What's your burn rate?", "Explain your cap table," "What's your unique insight?" Generic textbook phrases aren't enough here.
Our pain: Existing "professional" solutions cover broad industries but ignore the narrow, specific roles within them. There is no service that creates a personalized, gamified learning program (like Duolingo) for a specific job in a specific niche.
Example 1: My friend is preparing to work as a barista in a vegan coffee shop in Los Angeles. She doesn't need "Business English" or even a general "service industry" course. She needs to practice dialogues about "single-origin oat milk latte," "adjusting the grind for a V60 pour-over," and explaining the difference between "almond" and "macadamia milk" to the point of automaticity. Such a course doesn't exist anywhere.
Example 2: I'm a startup founder preparing for a pitch to Y Combinator investors. A general "presentation skills" course won't work for me. I need to practice answering specific venture capital questions: "What's your burn rate?", "Explain your cap table," "What's your unique insight?" Generic textbook phrases aren't enough here.
Our pain: Existing "professional" solutions cover broad industries but ignore the narrow, specific roles within them. There is no service that creates a personalized, gamified learning program (like Duolingo) for a specific job in a specific niche.
2. How often does the problem occur?
This becomes a critical daily task for 3-6 months before a career transition (relocation, seeking funding, new job). Without practicing these exact narrow skills, the chances of success drop sharply. Every day without practice in your specific topic feels like a missed opportunity.
3. What attempts have you made to solve the problem?
- "Professional" courses (Babbel, Busuu): Too generic. "English for the service industry" or "Business Communication" don't provide the needed vocabulary or practice for our real-life cases.
- AI Chats (ChatGPT, Claude): Require us to be subject matter experts ourselves to craft the right prompts. There's no structure, progress tracking, or sense of a "lesson." It's easy to veer off track.
- Corporate Platforms: Not accessible to individuals, and their "industry-specific" modules are still designed for a wide range of roles (e.g., "retail" instead of "barista in a specialty coffee shop").
- Role-playing simulators (Praktika, Yoodli): The closest option, but they offer isolated scenarios, not a cohesive, personalized learning path from simple to complex, built around a single career goal.
4. How much are you willing to pay for the solution?
We believe in the "freemium + subscription" model. It's crucial to try it for free to see if the service fits our narrow niche. We are willing to pay $15-25 per month for premium access if it provides:
- Hyper-personalized learning path (from onboarding like "Are you a barista? What kind of coffee shop?" to generating specific dialogues).
- Gamified mechanics and progress tracking (like Duolingo) to stay motivated.
- Deep focus on our exact topic, not general phrases.
5. Problem author:
The author of this problem has indicated that they are ready to provide feedback to the developers and want to receive 1% equity in the startup that will build a ready-made solution. You can contact the author directly via the contacts above.