# William Imoh on building a Norwegian-learning app with AI [Canonical reading](https://escapemeridian.com/readings/william-imoh-on-building-a-norwegian-learning-app-with-ai-3d1a9268) In Lenny’s Newsletter’s episode, Hackmamba founder William Imoh shows Mural, a real-time voice app he built with Codex to learn Norwegian after moving from Dubai to Norway. The episode description gives the project a personal starting point: after 1,000 days of Duolingo, Imoh says he still could not hold a conversation in Norwegian. He had never written Swift, but used Codex and GPT-Live to build Mural natively for iOS and Android. The episode follows how a specific frustration became a product, and how voice interaction, design choices, and running costs shape that attempt at language practice. The conversation also turns from building a tool to running a company. Imoh describes using a Lord of the Rings–themed Grok Bot “fellowship” to help run a team of about 25 as a solo founder, and discusses giving agents access across open tabs while withholding one thing. The description flags a tension behind these workflows: the fear that keeps him up is “dependency,” not replacement. The episode presents AI as both a way to extend one founder’s capacity and a possible source of reliance. The available description does not establish how well Mural teaches Norwegian or what dependency means in practice. Headline and summary by Escape Meridian, prepared by Luna from the attributed source. A source check is not independent confirmation of the source’s claims. ## Original source Lenny's Newsletter · Article Original source date: Nov 9, 2026 (2026-11-09T13:04:17+00:00). Date basis: Date stated by the publisher. Added to Escape Meridian: 2026-11-09T13:46:54.706Z. First observed: 2026-11-09T13:09:31.305Z. Retrieved: 2026-11-09T13:30:47.307Z. - [How this founder built a better Duolingo with Codex | William Imoh](https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-this-founder-built-a-better-duolingo) ## Limits The supplied evidence is the publisher’s episode description, not a transcript; it does not provide Imoh’s detailed reasoning about dependency or the specific limits he set on agent access. The evidence describes Mural’s purpose and development but does not establish its effectiveness for learning Norwegian. ## Open question What does Imoh mean by dependency in his use of AI agents, and what in his workflow makes that a concern? ## Source-stated William Imoh built Mural, a real-time voice app, to learn Norwegian after moving from Dubai to Norway. > the creator of Mural, a real-time voice app he built to learn Norwegian after moving from Dubai to Norway. - [Supporting source](https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-this-founder-built-a-better-duolingo) ## Source-stated Imoh says 1,000 days of Duolingo left him unable to hold a conversation in Norwegian. > Why 1,000 days of Duolingo left him unable to hold a conversation in Norwegian - [Supporting source](https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-this-founder-built-a-better-duolingo) ## Source-stated Although he had never written Swift, Imoh used Codex and GPT-Live to build Mural natively for iOS and Android. > he had never written a line of Swift. In this episode, William shows how he used Codex and GPT-Live to build Mural natively for iOS and Android - [Supporting source](https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-this-founder-built-a-better-duolingo) ## Source-stated Imoh discusses using a Lord of the Rings–themed Grok Bot “fellowship” to help run a team of about 25 as a solo founder. > the Lord of the Rings–themed Grok Bot “fellowship” that helps him run a team of about 25 as a solo founder. - [Supporting source](https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-this-founder-built-a-better-duolingo) ## Source-stated The episode description identifies dependency, rather than replacement, as the fear that keeps Imoh up. > Why the fear that keeps him up isn’t replacement—it’s dependency - [Supporting source](https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-this-founder-built-a-better-duolingo) ## Source and contributor context Claire Vo · Article author These are credits stated by the source; they do not establish a profile match or authorship of every passage. ## Source media Media declared by the original publisher; availability checked separately from the editorial reading. - [video · Lenny's Newsletter](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBROTIiHusc) - [image · Lenny's Newsletter](https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/26c29a9f-a3f2-4231-9fe6-f59341b9a768_728x524.png) ## Terms and references Reference context selected by Escape Meridian; separate from source evidence. Entity mentions do not establish authorship, involvement or endorsement. ## AI agent An AI system that chooses and carries out actions toward a goal, often using software tools. - [Definition reference](https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/ai-agents) ## Lenny's Newsletter Lenny's Newsletter is Lenny Rachitsky's publication and podcast on product management, growth and career questions for product people. - [Explore this context](/entities/lennys-newsletter) - [Reference](https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/) - [Reference](https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/feed) ## TIME TIME is a news magazine publishing reporting on world affairs, business, technology and the workers behind digital services. - [Explore this context](/entities/time) - [Reference](https://time.com/) ## Grok Grok is a family of AI models from xAI, with capability claims and evaluations published by its developer. - [Explore this context](/entities/grok) - [Reference](https://x.ai/grok) - [Reference](https://x.ai/news/grok-4-7) ## Editorial provenance Version 1. Publication ID: 0193f857-b119-4913-8714-efa1bb877fd6. Prepared by gpt-6-luna; grounding review by gpt-6-luna. Source check: passed by anthropic/claude-opus-5.5 on 2026-11-09T13:46:54.706Z. This checks fidelity to the source, not whether its claims are independently true. Editorial selection: accept; reasons: useful\_perspective. Observation: 54e8c2b5cd71e21da54327e82f8ed66f35e23aeaa8636194195313b397a3fec1. Source text hash: 1ea42bde7913e20101c0736a49bd3a41d426e54b4be4d992dfda4206d1cbbd2f. ## Revision and source-check history ### Version 1 — 2026-11-09T13:46:54.706Z In Lenny’s Newsletter’s episode, Hackmamba founder William Imoh shows Mural, a real-time voice app he built with Codex to learn Norwegian after moving from Dubai to Norway. The episode description gives the project a personal starting point: after 1,000 days of Duolingo, Imoh says he still could not hold a conversation in Norwegian. He had never written Swift, but used Codex and GPT-Live to build Mural natively for iOS and Android. The episode follows how a specific frustration became a product, and how voice interaction, design choices, and running costs shape that attempt at language practice. The conversation also turns from building a tool to running a company. Imoh describes using a Lord of the Rings–themed Grok Bot “fellowship” to help run a team of about 25 as a solo founder, and discusses giving agents access across open tabs while withholding one thing. The description flags a tension behind these workflows: the fear that keeps him up is “dependency,” not replacement. The episode presents AI as both a way to extend one founder’s capacity and a possible source of reliance. The available description does not establish how well Mural teaches Norwegian or what dependency means in practice. ## Original source Lenny's Newsletter · Article Original source date: Nov 9, 2026 (2026-11-09T13:04:17+00:00). Date basis: Date stated by the publisher. Added to Escape Meridian: 2026-11-09T13:46:54.706Z. First observed: 2026-11-09T13:09:31.305Z. Retrieved: 2026-11-09T13:30:47.307Z. - [How this founder built a better Duolingo with Codex | William Imoh](https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-this-founder-built-a-better-duolingo) ## Limits The supplied evidence is the publisher’s episode description, not a transcript; it does not provide Imoh’s detailed reasoning about dependency or the specific limits he set on agent access. The evidence describes Mural’s purpose and development but does not establish its effectiveness for learning Norwegian. ## Open question What does Imoh mean by dependency in his use of AI agents, and what in his workflow makes that a concern? ## Source-stated William Imoh built Mural, a real-time voice app, to learn Norwegian after moving from Dubai to Norway. > the creator of Mural, a real-time voice app he built to learn Norwegian after moving from Dubai to Norway. - [Supporting source](https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-this-founder-built-a-better-duolingo) ## Source-stated Imoh says 1,000 days of Duolingo left him unable to hold a conversation in Norwegian. > Why 1,000 days of Duolingo left him unable to hold a conversation in Norwegian - [Supporting source](https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-this-founder-built-a-better-duolingo) ## Source-stated Although he had never written Swift, Imoh used Codex and GPT-Live to build Mural natively for iOS and Android. > he had never written a line of Swift. In this episode, William shows how he used Codex and GPT-Live to build Mural natively for iOS and Android - [Supporting source](https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-this-founder-built-a-better-duolingo) ## Source-stated Imoh discusses using a Lord of the Rings–themed Grok Bot “fellowship” to help run a team of about 25 as a solo founder. > the Lord of the Rings–themed Grok Bot “fellowship” that helps him run a team of about 25 as a solo founder. - [Supporting source](https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-this-founder-built-a-better-duolingo) ## Source-stated The episode description identifies dependency, rather than replacement, as the fear that keeps Imoh up. > Why the fear that keeps him up isn’t replacement—it’s dependency - [Supporting source](https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-this-founder-built-a-better-duolingo) ## Source and contributor context Claire Vo · Article author These are credits stated by the source; they do not establish a profile match or authorship of every passage. ## Source media Media declared by the original publisher; availability checked separately from the editorial reading. - [video · Lenny's Newsletter](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBROTIiHusc) - [image · Lenny's Newsletter](https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/26c29a9f-a3f2-4231-9fe6-f59341b9a768_728x524.png) ## Terms and references Reference context selected by Escape Meridian; separate from source evidence. Entity mentions do not establish authorship, involvement or endorsement. ## AI agent An AI system that chooses and carries out actions toward a goal, often using software tools. - [Definition reference](https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/ai-agents) ## Lenny's Newsletter Lenny's Newsletter is Lenny Rachitsky's publication and podcast on product management, growth and career questions for product people. - [Explore this context](/entities/lennys-newsletter) - [Reference](https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/) - [Reference](https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/feed) ## TIME TIME is a news magazine publishing reporting on world affairs, business, technology and the workers behind digital services. - [Explore this context](/entities/time) - [Reference](https://time.com/) ## Grok Grok is a family of AI models from xAI, with capability claims and evaluations published by its developer. - [Explore this context](/entities/grok) - [Reference](https://x.ai/grok) - [Reference](https://x.ai/news/grok-4-7) ## Editorial provenance Version 1. Publication ID: 0193f857-b119-4913-8714-efa1bb877fd6. Prepared by gpt-6-luna; grounding review by gpt-6-luna. Source check: passed by anthropic/claude-opus-5.5 on 2026-11-09T13:46:54.706Z. This checks fidelity to the source, not whether its claims are independently true. Editorial selection: accept; reasons: useful\_perspective. Observation: 54e8c2b5cd71e21da54327e82f8ed66f35e23aeaa8636194195313b397a3fec1. Source text hash: 1ea42bde7913e20101c0736a49bd3a41d426e54b4be4d992dfda4206d1cbbd2f. ### passed — 2026-11-09T13:46:54.706Z — anthropic/claude-opus-5.5 Publication: 0193f857-b119-4913-8714-efa1bb877fd6 attribution — pass: The reading correctly identifies William Imoh, founder of Hackmamba, as the subject, and attributes the Duolingo frustration and dependency fear to him through the episode description. Calling it Lenny's Newsletter's episode matches the publisher. Naming the host, Claire Vo, and the show, How I AI, would be clearer but is not required. > William Imoh is the founder of Hackmamba, a developer marketing company, and the creator of Mural summary — pass: The title, summary and question convey the episode's two threads: Imoh building Mural with Codex and GPT-Live without knowing Swift, and running a team of about 25 with a Grok Bot fellowship. It keeps the dependency-versus-replacement tension and notes what the description does not establish. Product names such as Codex, GPT-Live and Grok Bot could use term-library tooltips, but they do not block understanding. The question follows from the evidence. > Why the fear that keeps him up isn’t replacement—it’s dependency date — pass: originalPublished is 2026-11-09, based on the publisher page. This matches the page's visible date and the feed entry. > Claire Vo Nov 09, 2026 support — pass: All claims match source excerpts verbatim or near-verbatim. These include Mural's purpose, the 1,000 Duolingo days, building without prior Swift experience, the team of about 25, the 15 open tabs with one exception, and the dependency fear. The framing about voice, design and costs reflects the listed episode topics. The reading avoids claiming that Mural is effective and explicitly marks that as unknown. > Why he gave his agents access to everything across 15 open tabs, except one thing media — pass: The selected media is the verified original article page, which is the direct source of the episode description. The verified YouTube video is an alternative, but the article is an appropriate and relevant choice. ## Recorded references Explicit citations in public readings and public file attachments to this reading. Shared topics are not citations. Other artifact types need an explicit reference adapter. No public references recorded here yet. [Reference data (JSON)](/readings/3d1a9268b71d89a13bf8628824a3a52f8b8885bb5fe17fbe840a2f1325d5d42b/references.json) ## Corrections and challenges [Send a correction or an opposing source](https://escapemeridian.com/corrections/) [JSON record](https://escapemeridian.com/readings/william-imoh-on-building-a-norwegian-learning-app-with-ai-3d1a9268.json)