Hardware Podcasts

86: Madeupical Word

Embedded.fm · 28 Jan 2015 · 1h 12m

What this episode covers

Erin McKean, founder of Wordnik and Reverb, explains how her background as a lexicographer led to building a natural language processing engine that maps word relationships to power content recommendations. She details the transition from a commercial startup to a nonprofit model, relying on an 'Adopt-a-Word' program and premium API access to sustain the dictionary. McKean also discusses the linguistic nuances of context, 'skunked' words, and the parallels between writing fiction and coding software.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Wordnik, Thorndike Barnhart, Oxford University Press, Reaction Housing
Products
Reverb, The Century Dictionary
Also
Wikipedia

Related episodes from other shows

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • How I Built This · 42m

    Wikipedia: Jimmy Wales (2018)

    Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, explains how he pivoted from the failed Nupedia project to launch Wikipedia using wiki software, creating a non-profit model funded by donations to avoid commercial bias. He discusses the early challenges of scaling the platform, managing a volunteer community, and establishing editorial policies in response to high-profile controversies. The episode also features Leigh D'Angelo and her sister Casey, who created the dating app 'Dig' to help dog owners find compatible partners, detailing their journey from idea to launch and their city-by-city growth strategy.

    Starting a product companyValidation & product-market fit
    6 chapters

  • How I Built This · 28m

    Meet The HIBT Fellows: Pierre Paul & Toby Egbuna

    Pierre Paul, founder of We Hear You, explains how his childhood experiences with exclusion inspired a sign language translator app that converts finger spelling to speech using Android tablets, aiming for full gesture recognition. Toby Egbuna, co-founder of Chezie (formerly Diversify), describes building a platform that uses curated, anonymous 'stories' and demographic 'portraits' to help job seekers from underrepresented groups find inclusive workplaces, contrasting it with generic review sites like Glassdoor. Both founders discuss their early-stage development, the ambiguity of product-market fit, and their participation in the How I Built This Fellows program.

    Starting a product companyValidation & product-market fit
    7 chapters

  • How I Built This · 1h 04m

    reCAPTCHA and Duolingo: Luis von Ahn

    Luis von Ahn, co-founder of Duolingo and reCAPTCHA, recounts how a 2000 lecture at Carnegie Mellon inspired him to create CAPTCHA to stop Yahoo spam bots, which he gave away for free. He later evolved this into reCAPTCHA to digitize books for the New York Times, selling the company to Google, before pivoting to Duolingo with co-founder Severin Hacker to provide free language education. Von Ahn details the struggle to find a sustainable business model, the decision to introduce ads and subscriptions, and the massive growth driven by the pandemic.

    Starting a product companyPricing, margins & unit economics
    10 chapters

  • People of Packaging · 12m

    331 - I wrote a book and it's out TODAY!

    Adam Peek, founder of Label King, discusses the release of his new book, 'Sales Exegesis: A Pastor’s Journey into Packaging Sales,' detailing the unique process of writing it. He explains how he leveraged 14 years of LinkedIn content and voice memos from his commute to train an AI ghostwriter, allowing him to structure his thoughts without extensive typing. Peek outlines his core philosophy of building sales strategies on observable, objective truth rather than hype, drawing parallels between his past as a pastor and modern sales techniques.

    Direct-to-consumer & e-commerceAI & machine learning
    1 chapters

  • How I Built This · 1h 17m

    WordPress & Automattic: Matt Mullenweg

    Matt Mullenweg, founder of Automattic and co-creator of WordPress, explains how he transitioned from a hobbyist blogging platform to a $7 billion company. He details the early collaboration with Mike Little, the strategic decision to retain intellectual property at CNET, and the pivotal launch of WordPress.com. Mullenweg also discusses the accidental spam scandal, the rejection of a $200 million acquisition offer, and Automattic’s unique remote-first culture and open-source licensing strategy.

    Starting a product companyIntellectual property
    10 chapters

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by Embedded.fm. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.