He Built a $130M Company That Changes How You Sound | Ep. 399 with Shawn Zhang CTO and Co-Founder of Sanas
About this episode
Shawn Zhang discusses the inspiration behind Sanas and the challenges of building a startup focused on accent translation.
Daniel Robbins sits down with Shawn Zhang, CTO and co-founder of Sanas, to unpack the real human problem behind “accent translation.” Shawn shares how COVID made college feel pointless without people, how a friend working in a Nicaragua call center was punished for his accent, and how that moment became the spark to build Sanas. They also talk backlash, founder pressure, unknown unknowns, Silicon Valley energy, and what happens when a startup goes from zero to $62M in revenue in two years.
People in this episode
Host: Daniel Robbins
Guest: Shawn Zhang
Topics covered
- accent translation
- entrepreneurship
- startup growth
- founder challenges
- Silicon Valley
Keywords
- accent translation
- Sanas
- startup
- entrepreneurship
- Silicon Valley
- founder pressure
- COVID
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Sanas
Places: Nicaragua
More episodes of Founder's Story
- Anastasia Soare Built a $3 Billion Empire. Started With No English. No Money. | Ep. 404
- Spencer Pratt Wins LA Mayor and Other Shocking Predictions From Famous Psychic | Ep. 403 with Craig Hamilton-Parker
- Built a $34M Company on One Lesson From Her Dad at 7 | Ep. 401 with Kate Monroe
- AI Made MVPs Instant. So Why Are Most Startups Still Losing | Ep. 401 with Eric Ries
- Doctors Missed His Son's Disease for 20 Years | Ep. 400 with Chuck Knueve
- How Trauma Built KIND to a $5B Exit | Ep. 398 with Daniel Lubetzky Founder of KIND Snacks
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Founder's Story podcast page.