Built by a learner who couldn’t find the right tool.
Refined by a teacher who knew what was missing.
Eluency didn’t start in a boardroom. It started at a kitchen table — with flashcards, a Portuguese dictionary, and the desire to connect with family.
It started with family.
My wife is from Brazil. Her family and closest friends speak only Portuguese. When we got together, I knew that learning her language wasn’t just a nice thing to do — it was the only way to truly be part of her world. I wanted to talk to her family, laugh with her friends, and understand the culture she grew up in.
So I did what everyone does. I downloaded Duolingo and Babbel, found a tutor, and started studying. But after months of work, something wasn’t clicking. The apps were teaching me one thing, and my teacher was teaching me another. I was spending time every day — but practicing the wrong vocabulary. My progress stalled, and I knew the tools were the problem, not the effort.
As an Operations Manager at one of Canada’s largest mechanical and quick-lube chains — and a professional MMA fighter — my schedule doesn’t leave much room for waste. I needed practice that matched exactly what my teacher was covering each week, so I’d show up prepared and actually progress.
So I built it myself. A simple app to practice only the vocabulary and phrases my tutor assigned. No distractions. No random lessons. Just my content, in my pocket, ready whenever I had five minutes.
A personal tool became a platform.
That simple app changed everything for me. I started coming to my lessons prepared. I was retaining vocabulary faster. My teacher noticed the difference immediately — and so did my wife’s family.
With our first child on the way this August, learning Portuguese isn’t slowing down — it’s accelerating. We’ve decided that our home will be a Portuguese-speaking household, so our child grows up connected to their Brazilian roots. That personal commitment makes Eluency more than a business for me. It’s something I use every single day.
But the more I built, the more I realized I wasn’t the only one with this problem. Teachers everywhere were spending hours creating worksheets and PDFs that students barely touched. Students were stuck using generic apps that didn’t match what they were actually learning. The gap between what teachers teach and what students practice at home was huge — and nobody was closing it.
That gap became Eluency. In December 2025, I decided to turn this personal project into a company — a platform that gives teachers full control over what their students practice, and gives students a real fighting chance to learn faster, better, and on their own terms.
From flashcards to a global platform.
The frustration begins
Nathan starts learning Portuguese with Duolingo, Babbel, and a private tutor. The apps teach random content that never aligns with his lessons. Progress stalls despite daily effort.
A personal solution
Tired of studying the wrong vocabulary, Nathan builds a simple app for himself — designed to practice only what his tutor assigns each week. The results are immediate.
Teachers take notice
Nathan's tutor, Carol Ameno, sees the impact on his learning and begins using the tool with her other students. The feedback is overwhelmingly positive — students are more prepared and progressing faster.
Eluency becomes a company
In December 2025, Nathan officially launches Eluency as a platform for language teachers and tutors worldwide. Carol joins as Brazilian Coordinator and Lead Teacher.
Growing every day
Eluency now supports Portuguese, Spanish, English (ESL), and French — with more languages in development. The mission: help teachers elevate their students' fluency worldwide.
Real people. Real learners. Real teachers.
Nathan Mason
Operations Manager by day, professional MMA fighter by discipline, and language learner by heart. Nathan built Eluency because he lived the problem firsthand — and knew that teachers and students deserved a better tool. He still uses the app every day to prepare for his own Portuguese lessons.
Carol Ameno
Carol came into Nathan’s life through his wife — a friend from her school days in Salvador who became a dedicated Portuguese tutor. Her teaching style helped Nathan progress faster than any app could, and when Eluency grew into a real platform, she was the natural choice to lead the Brazilian market. Carol tests every feature with her 20+ active students, builds curriculum templates, and ensures Eluency works the way real teachers need it to.
20,000 students. Every language. Everywhere.
We’re just getting started. In the next few years, we want Eluency to support teachers and students in every language, in every country, on every device.
We’re building a global network of teacher ambassadors, expanding our language library, and working toward a single goal: helping over 20,000 students learn better, practice smarter, and become fluent faster.
The values behind every feature.
Teacher-First, Always
Teachers know their students better than any algorithm. Eluency gives them control — not a fixed curriculum. Every feature starts with the question: does this make the teacher's life easier?
Built by Real Learners
We're not a lab experiment. Our founder uses Eluency every day to learn Portuguese. Our lead teacher uses it every day to teach it. The product is shaped by real experience, not assumptions.
Students Deserve Better
Students shouldn't have to study random content and hope it sticks. They deserve practice that matches their lessons, engages them through multiple modes, and gives them a real chance to succeed.
Language Connects Culture
Learning a language isn't just about grammar and vocabulary. It's about connecting with people, families, and cultures. That personal motivation is at the heart of why Eluency exists.
Privacy by Design
No ads. No data selling. Students join with a class code — no accounts, no emails, no passwords. We collect the minimum data needed for practice to work. Period.
Progress Over Perfection
We ship, we listen, we improve. Eluency gets better every week because we work closely with real teachers and students. We'd rather move fast and solve real problems than wait for perfection.