Competing with Free: Why We Closed Moxie

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In this episode, we open up about something we haven’t shared publicly before: our decision to shut down Moxie, the startup we spent years building.

We talk honestly about what led to that choice—the excitement of early growth, the challenges of raising money as non-technical founders, and the impossible reality of competing with free tools from tech giants like Google, OpenAI, and Microsoft.

This isn’t just a story about one company. It’s about trust, expertise, failure, and the messy human side of working with generative AI in education and research. Along the way, we reflect on what we wish we’d known earlier, how burnout shaped our decisions, and what we’ve learned about ourselves through the process of letting go.

What you’ll hear in this episode:

• Why we ultimately decided to shut down Moxie
• The pressures of fundraising and pitching as non-technical founders
• The gap between hype and reality with AI in education
• Lessons on trust, expertise, and failure in both startups and academia
• How we’re processing life and work after Moxie

If you’ve ever wondered what it really feels like to close the doors on something you’ve poured yourself into, or you’re navigating your own questions about AI, startups, or burnout—you’ll find some resonance here.

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