People born with an innate interest in how the world’s building blocks work can consider themselves lucky: The job field best suited to their passions pays highly. Engineering has consistently been ranked as among the most lucrative career options in the world, so the average engineer likely makes more than enough money to fund all manner of hobbies and side passions. Moosiko founder Dan Mascola’s experience serves as a prime example.
“Curiosity drives me the most,” says Mascola of his engineering background, and regarding his hobbies, he adds, “I’m always trying to figure out how things work, including starting a business.” That’s why, in 2018, nearly ten years after he graduated from Northeastern University with a mechanical engineering degree, he used his savings to transform five years of planning into his second business to date, an online platform called Moosiko.
With Moosiko, Mascola uses proprietary adaptive learning technology as the basis for guitar lessons that customize users’ song and skill choices based on their interests and needs. Moosiko’s focus on the intermediate stages of learning guitar – playing songs, learning chords, switching between chords, arranging chords into a song, and strumming with proper form – has quickly distinguished it from long-standing competitors that focus on basic skills such as guitar tuning, grip, and arm strengthening or advanced skills including hammer-ons, soloing, and flatpicking.
Moosiko further separates itself from other guitar learning platforms by shelving theory lessons and repetitive exercises, instead teaching users hundreds of songs by artists including The Beatles, Jason Mraz, Van Morrison, and more. It’s the perfect tool for people plateauing in what Mascola says is the steepest part of the guitar learning curve, and its laser focus on this singular snag is by design – Moosiko isn’t Mascola’s first rodeo.
“I’ve always enjoyed creating something from nothing,” Mascola says (he also credits this trait with driving his mechanical engineering career), and Moosiko is only his most recent example. Earlier this decade, he launched a startup called Everyday Yoga. “I blew through all my savings to make it happen,” he says of the now-defunct business, “and looking back, I had no clue what I was doing, but the experience opened my eyes to the full spectrum of starting a business.” When he decided that it was time to launch Moosiko, he reflected on his years spearheading Everyday Yoga to know which mistakes to avoid and which decisions worked best, and his patient, thoughtful business style in part accounts for Moosiko’s rapid success.
Another huge reason for Moosiko’s quick rise in the guitar learning world: It’s the only online guitar learning platform that isn’t video-based. Mascola says that he avoids this common format since it presents more obstacles than benefits. “Video-based platforms aren’t good for teaching physical skills,” he explains. “Moosiko instead focuses on deliberate practice, which is much more effective for beginners stuck in the intermediate portion of the learning curve.” In Mascola’s eyes, teaching a newer guitarist “I’m Yours,” “Let It Be,” or “Brown Eyed Girl” provides a much faster route toward guitar-playing prowess than repeated pentatonic scale drills or mastering the seven modes. He would know – he’s as passionate about writing music as he is about tinkering with nature’s tiniest pieces.
“I’ve always enjoyed writing music,” says Mascola, “and Moosiko combines my skills in creating new products with my personal passion for making music.” Thanks to his ingenuity, other people looking to tap into their own musical passions can use Moosiko to do just that.