In this episode of The Empowered Podcast (Invst Guru Edition), we sit down with Mak Grgic, Grammy-nominated guitarist and CEO & Co-Founder of Notey, the groundbreaking platform transforming how people learn music.

Notey combines AI, gaming, and education to turn traditional music practice into an immersive, game-like experience. With a mission to make music learning as engaging as playing Guitar Hero or Super Mario, Notey helps beginners stick with their instruments longer — solving one of the biggest challenges in music education today.

🎵 Topics Covered:

• How Notey gamifies music practice for beginners
• The role of generative AI in music learning
• Retention and engagement challenges in music education
• How Notey aims to become the “Duolingo for music”
• Lessons from Techstars and building a music-tech startup

🔥 Whether you’re a musician, educator, or startup founder, this episode dives deep into the future of music practice, gamification, and edtech innovation.

📊 A quick snapshot from Notey:

• $250K new commitments this week, bringing us close to 50% cash in the bank for our current raise

• New partnership with Devot, an award-winning software company, to fast-track parent/teacher dashboards and launch our Android build

📈 Key Metrics & Growth:

• 20K users and 40 school partnerships (+11% increase from past quarter)

• Engagement: 12 min/session

• Conversion: 7% install → SFT, 48% SFT → paid

• Retention: D1 88%, D90 67% (vs. industry avg ~2%)

• Unit economics: CAC ~$30 vs. $60 annual subscription

💰 Interested in speaking about Notey’s current raise or just have questions? Grab a time here: https://calendly.com/mak-grgic/30min?month=2025-10

📱 Try Notey on iOS: https://notey.co/

💬 Connect with Mak Grgic: https://www.makgrgic.com

#MusicTech #AIinMusic #Gamification #StartupPodcast #Notey #MakGrgic #MusicEducation #EdTech #DuolingoForMusic #AI #MusicLearning

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.