Jan van der Aa

Creator Empires: Builders in Language Education

Business EN ↓ 202 episodes

Conversations with the builders shaping the future of language education. Hosted by Jan van der Aa, the show features conversations with founders, operators, and builders who are shaping the next generation of language education, apps, platforms, and education businesses. Jan is co-founder of the language practice app Teacher AI, and runs Creator Empires; a networking community for builders in the language space.

Author

Jan van der Aa

Category

Business

Podcast website

www.creatorempires.com

Latest episode

Jun 30, 2026

Where to listen?

Podcasts in the app Replaio Radio Coming soon

Podcasts are coming to the app soon. Install now and be the first to see a whole new take on podcasts

Get it on Google Play Install for free Android 5M+ downloads · 4.8 rating iOS soon

Episodes

204. Head of Teachable on What's Changing in Online Education - Giovana Carvalho 30.06.2026

Giovanna Carvalho from Teachable talks about how AI is changing online education, and what creators and app builders in the language space need to focus on now. The episode covers why human connection, trust, and community still matter, how creators are adapting their offers, and where new opportunities are opening up as AI makes content easier to produce. Are you building in the language space? J...

203. Babbel's 'AI Boss' (ELSA's co-founder) on the Future of Language Apps - Xavier Anguera 01.06.2026

Join Xavier Anguera, co-founder of Elsa and senior VP at Babel, as he explores how AI is changing language learning. Discover how AI makes learning more personal and effective, and why it's not just about flashy features. Learn how AI tools are built and how they help people learn languages faster. Whether you're interested in tech or just curious about learning, this episode offers clear...

202. $1 Million in Revenue Teaching Spanish with 17K subs 25.05.2026

In this episode, I sit down with Timothy from LearnCraft Spanish. A langpreneur who built a 7-figure Spanish coaching business with just 17K YouTube subscribers and a non-active podcast. We dive deep into: How LearnCraft Spanish sells premium coaching programs from $400 to $1,000/month Why “serious learners” are willing to pay much more for language coaching How Timothy generates high-quality lead...

201. Takeaways from the Amsterdam Mastermind 08.04.2026

We just got back from Amsterdam. This episode is the debrief. At our recent Langpreneurs mastermind, two talks stood out above everything else. One was a deep dive into Teachable's own student and creator data, surveying hundreds of buyers across price points and niches to find out what's actually driving course sales right now. The other was a masterclass from Olly Richards of Story Learn...

200. Everything Is Your Fault (And That's Good News) - Chris Pell 17.03.2026

What does it take to build one of the most recognized IELTS brands on YouTube, and turn it into a seven-figure business? In this episode, Jan sits down with Chris, who went from being a lawyer in 2008 to teaching English in Asia, to building a YouTube channel with 4.5 million subscribers and tens of millions of monthly views across platforms. Chris shares the unfiltered lessons behind his success,...

199. Optimizing YouTube for Sales, Not Views - with Teacher Stefano 12.03.2026

Teacher Stefano has been teaching Italian online for over a decade, and in that time he's built a YouTube channel approaching 300,000 subscribers. But the most interesting part of his story isn't the subscriber count, it's what he figured out about turning views into an actual business. In this episode, Stefano shares why he stopped chasing views and started optimizing for leads, how h...

198. Courses Are Dead? Olly Richards’ Playbook for Language Creators in 2026 03.03.2026

In this conversation, Jan and Olly discuss the evolution of language education businesses over the past decade, focusing on the transition from blogging to video content and the impact of AI on the industry. They explore strategies for optimizing lead generation, the future of online courses, and the importance of building a strong personal brand and audience. Olly shares insights on how to adapt...

197. Grow Your Creator Education Business in 1 Hour (Real Case Studies + AI systems) 31.01.2026

In this episode, Jan shares proven systems and real case studies for growing creator education businesses in 2026. Drawing from his experience building six and seven-figure education businesses and working with top content creators in the language education space, he breaks down actionable strategies across three core growth pillars: traffic, conversion, and lifetime value. What You'll Learn: Traf...

196. Will AI Destroy Your Course Business? 16.06.2025

5 ways to keep your creator-led education business future-proof: 1. Your fans want to learn from YOU. Make your products as personal as possible. 2. People will always be happy to pay for transformation, not for information. Position your offer that way. 3. Sell access. Build a community, offer live co-horts, of offer one-on-one access to yourself. 4. Consider running in-person events. The need fo...

195. Simple Framework for Growing your Creator Business 13.05.2025

There are only 3 ways to grow your creator business: Get more views (traffic) 1. Turn more viewers into customers (conversion) 2. Get customers to spend more (product/offer) 3. The hard part? Knowing what to fix right now. Here’s a simple guide: 1. Optimize TRAFFIC first if: You’re not getting top views in your niche You haven’t fully committed to a YouTube strategy 2. Build a PRODUCT if: You’ve g...

194. My Conversion Rates Are Too Low 24.04.2025

You’re a content creator selling education, but your conversion rates are too low… Maybe because you have a big following in low-income countries. Or you’ve just managed to attract lots of freeloaders. Now what do you do? – First, we need to make sure: 1. You’re offering something that people actually want 2. You have proper sales systems in place 3. Are your conversion rates really that low? (Com...

193. Your Creator Business is Worth Nothing 23.04.2025

Your creator business is worth nothing… To most investors, at least. Because when you leave the business, it goes to zero. But they’re often great for cash flow. Creators can invest that cash into product-first businesses that fill a real gap in the market. Something that can outgrow their personal brand. Software is just one example. That’s what we’re doing with Teacher AI Check out our events: w...

192. The ONE Thing All Successful Creator Businesses Have in Common 22.04.2025

The most successful creator businesses I’ve seen have one thing in common: They all have tons of traffic. Because if you have traffic and trust, you can sell almost anything — even with bad marketing. So before thinking about your next product or marketing trick, ask yourself… Am I really doing all I can to get more views? How obsessed are you with: Nailing your video ideas Perfecting your video p...

191. The Power Of 'World Building' 18.04.2025

His business never grew exponentially. He never built any marketing funnels. But guess what? Out of 20 language businesses in the room, HIS business was the biggest. How? - He was one of the first movers to teach on YouTube. - He’s been doing it for 15+ years. - He's published over 100 books, courses, and apps. He started early... and just kept going. Simple, but not easy. Join our events: www.cre...

190. Stop Doing All The Stuff That Doesn’t Matter 17.04.2025

‘’I want to scale, but I don’t have enough time’’ I have to write newsletters, post on six platforms, redesign my website, move to another CRM system, and launch a new $5-per-month membership. - And I also want to start a podcast. - And create another course. - And redo my funnels. But I don’t have enough time. How do I scale my business? This is something we often hear from creators. The thing is...

189. Same Product, Different Offers 16.04.2025

Here’s how to promote the same product to your audience every month - without exhausting your audience. First, remember: the product and the offer are two different things. You can sell the same product using: - Different offers - Different sales angles Here’s how to keep your promotions fresh and interesting throughout the year: Month 1: Buy now get free bonus Month 2: Offer a payment plan Month...

188. The Problem With 'Double Down On What's Working' 15.04.2025

The “Double down on what’s working” advice has a major flaw. It can make you overlook obvious gaps in your business. Example #1 • Who: A content creator with tons of traffic • What worked: Creating content • Usual advice: Create more content • Real bottleneck: Nothing to sell • Better advice: Create a product Example #2 • Who: A language learning app • What worked: Facebook ads • Usual advice: Run...

187. General Advice vs. Niche advice 15.04.2025

The power of niche A ‘Langpreneur’ I know spent $35K on an event ran by a world class entrepreneur that you know from social. Someone I also look up to. And yes, loved the event. They studied his business. Their key insight; his conversion rates were too low. Then he came to our event for creators in the language space. And so he asked us how to increase his conversion rates. And then he told us w...

186. How to Double Your Leads from YouTube 15.04.2025

Here's the list... - Promote a lead magnet in each video - Show a screen recording of what the sign up process looks like - Print the lead magnet out, show it in your video - Optimize your opt-in pages for mobile - Mention the lead magnet in a pinned comment - Potentially mention your lead magnet in different places in your video - Use the community tab to promote your lead magnets - Show your fac...

185. 7 Takeaways from our Mastermind in Tenerife 24.09.2024

Last week, content creators in the language education space flew in from around the world to gather in Tenerife for our annual Langpreneur Mastermind retreat. This time, we had participants coming from the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, the US, and even as far as Australia! In this episode, I'll share 7 takeaways from the event. For more info about our events: www.creatorempires.com

184. We Launched A Brand New 7-Figure Creator Business 15.12.2023

Creator Education Businesses have a cap. And here's how you get rid of it... The project I'm talking about: https://yourteacher.ai/ Sign up for our Weekly Smarts Newsletter for weekly tips and insights on how to build a creator business:
 https://weeklysmarts.com/ Learn more about our Inner Circle and Mastermind events: https://creatorsmarts.com/

 Follow me on IG:
@janvanderaa1 Want us to help yo...

183. What the Pros Don't Tell You About Winning On YouTube - Nate Black 13.11.2023

Nate's channel: https://www.youtube.com/@UCpFE8BGxvDh... Consultations with Nate: https://radicalyt.com/ Sign up for our Weekly Smarts Newsletter for weekly tips and insights on how to build a creator business: https://weeklysmarts.com/ Learn more about our Inner Circle and Mastermind events: https://creatorsmarts.com/ Follow me on IG:@janvanderaa1 Want us to help you to grow your creator empire t...

182. How a $10M Creator Business Does Email Marketing 02.11.2023

Today, Olly is going to dissect the psychology underpinning email marketing and how you can use it effectively to run your online business. He's developed his own unique approach to email marketing over the years, and he shares the specific framework that he's developed to build a robust relationship with your audience, dismantle misconceptions about email sequences, and harness the power of urgen...

181. How YouTuber Oscar Owen Built The #1 Magic School 24.10.2023

Today we're exploring a new niche: Magic! Oscar's YT channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/OscarOwen Sign up for our Weekly Smarts Newsletter for weekly tips and insights on how to build a creator business: https://weeklysmarts.com/ Learn more about our Inner Circle and Mastermind events: https://creatorsmarts.com/ Follow me: IG: @janvanderaa1 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jan-van-der-aa-6689...

180. Steal These Marketing Tricks from McDonald's! (Bump vs. Upsell vs. Tripwire) 20.10.2023

What's your core offer? And what offer works best for a tripwire, order bump and upsell? In this episode, we'll find out! Sign up for our Weekly Smarts Newsletter for weekly tips and insights on how to build a creator business:
https://weeklysmarts.com/ Learn more about our Inner Circle and Mastermind events: https://creatorsmarts.com/

 Follow me on IG:
@janvanderaa1 Want us to help you grow your...

Listen to the Creator Empires: Builders in Language Education podcast in Replaio

Radio and podcasts in one app - free, with no sign-up. Install today and do not miss the launch

Get it on Google Play

Replaio is not a podcast publisher; show names, artwork and audio belong to their authors and are distributed through public RSS feeds.