Martin Rue

In this episode of the Trial to Paid podcast, Rob Morgan welcomes Martin Rue, the founder of LangSesh, to discuss his journey from a lifelong passion for languages and software engineering to creating an innovative language learning tool. Martin shares his guiding principles for building products, the importance of honesty and doing meaningful work, and his unique path as a digital nomad in Southeast Asia. The conversation delves into LangSesh's development, including challenges, technological choices, and the essential feedback loop with users. Martin also emphasises the significance of aligning personal interests with entrepreneurial projects, fostering a fulfilling and sustainable work-life balance. This episode is packed with insights on innovation, user-centered design, and maintaining motivation in the startup world.Chapters00:00 Welcome and Introduction00:17 Guiding Principles in Product Design01:06 The Importance of Helping Others02:31 Building for Yourself and Finding Your Market03:21 Discussing LangSesh03:49 Early Coding Journey08:14 The Fascination with Languages13:05 Discovering Esperanto20:03 Entrepreneurial Journey and Side Projects25:11 Challenges and Lessons Learned27:46 Transition to Digital Nomad Life31:49 Cutting Costs and Saving Time: Our Move to Vietnam33:32 Living Off Savings: The Reality of Our Journey35:11 The Ups and Downs of Life in Vietnam39:23 Introducing LangSesh: A New Language Learning Tool40:34 LangSesh Features and User Experience43:40 Challenges and Iterations: Improving LangSesh49:01 The Journey of Building LangSesh57:45 Validating and Launching LangSesh01:05:06 Feedback and Iteration01:06:13 Shipping Updates and Pricing Changes01:08:09 Challenges and Early Signals01:10:02 Marketing and Community Engagement01:14:24 Tech Stack and Development Philosophy01:19:53 Wins and Learnings01:26:13 Future Vision and Advice for Founders01:35:09 Final Thoughts and Contact InformationMartin's LinksLangSesh: https://langsesh.comLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/martinrue/X: https://x.com/martinrueRob's LinksTrial to Paid: https://trialtopaid.ioLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/rbdmorganX: https://x.com/rbdmorgan-----Music: "Nightfall" by OlexandrMusic (https://soundcloud.com/olexandrmusic)