What Niels Hoven has said about Referral marketing
2 quotes · 1 episode · Sep 10, 2026
Niels Hoven, Founder and CEO of Mentava, an education software company for fast learners; former game designer at Pocket Gems, has been quoted on Referral marketing 2 times in 1 episode of The Tim Ferriss Show, most recently on September 10, 2026. Each quote below is verbatim and links to the moment it was said.
In their words
Hoven reports that a two-sided free-month referral offer sent to all customers produced no referrals.
“And we send out coupon codes to our entire customer base. And we got zero referrals”
The Tim Ferriss Show: #882: How to Teach a 3-Year-Old to Read and Rethinking Education — Tim Coaches Niels Hoven of Mentava (Sep 10, 2026) · Listen from 1:03:09
Hoven attributes the failed referral incentive to wealthy customers valuing social considerations over a $500 bonus.
“that $500 bonus that they get is not as valuable to them as the social currency”
The Tim Ferriss Show: #882: How to Teach a 3-Year-Old to Read and Rethinking Education — Tim Coaches Niels Hoven of Mentava (Sep 10, 2026) · Listen from 1:03:38
Episodes
#882: How to Teach a 3-Year-Old to Read and Rethinking Education — Tim Coaches Niels Hoven of MentavaThe Tim Ferriss Show · Sep 10, 2026 · 2 h 14 min
Tim Ferriss runs a live coaching session with Mentava founder Niels Hoven on positioning, pricing, referrals, and marketing for his early-literacy app for preschoolers.
Niels Hoven on other topics
- Accelerated learning · 3 quotes
- Phonics · 3 quotes
- Mentava · 3 quotes
- Early childhood literacy · 2 quotes
- Pricing strategy · 1 quote
- Motivation design in educational software · 1 quote