🎤 Invst Guru Founder Series 🎤

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

📱 Try Notey on iOS: https://notey.co/
💬 Connect with Mak Grgic: https://www.makgrgic.com