Q&A with Emil Brunner, CEO of Takeoff1 GmbH

MEDIA 7 | June 13, 2019

Emil Brunner, CEO of Takeoff1 GmbH is an experienced businessman who has worked in many countries. He has dedicated more than 10 years to the intuitive method of language acquisition called the “Birkenbihl Approach” formulated by Vera F. Birkenbihl.  Emil and Vera have worked together on the digitalization of this language acquisition method which has been incorporated into Emil's language-learning platform, Brain-Friendly. 

In this interesting Q&A, Emil takes us through the Birkinbihl approach which is helping users worldwide to learn languages with ease.

MEDIA 7: Could you please tell us about your background?
EMIL BRUNNER:
 I started as a technician; then I changed to sales. In my heart, I’ve always been a salesman. I started my business as the first Xerox Partner in Austria, and then I managed a company selling office machines and equipment. It was my first time going into other countries, like Germany and Switzerland. In that business, I worked with many phone agents, so the company grew to an outbound sales call center. In the USA, I had my first technology experience and built an automated call machine. We then got the franchise partner of RTL Teleshop - it was after QVC the second largest in DACH, for Austria.  I gained knowledge in TV-Power plus Sales power and found it fascinating. The next step was to automate the call center.

In 2004, we ran a call center in a pizza box (computer) for teleshop companies. In the States, we closed orders for up to 60% of callers fully automated, the rest were connected to the classical human call center. It had a great future, but I did it with the wrong people. So the company went bankrupt, and we went back to Austria.
After that experience, back "home" - felt so small, and we went on to start a software development business.
I began working and studying TV & Film making at the same time. My master's degree was a documentary film about "Teleshop and new technologies.”

I met Vera F. Birkenbihl, and she was one of the most successful scientists for learning methods and strategies and held a lot of live seminars - long before TEDx came up. I produced about 10 of those seminars, gaining many skills in the process, and that's when I found out about the language learning method. Me and language? I had trouble all the time while I went to school. I was sure languages were not for me. However, my son was a successful young developer and was interested and started to develop an app for language learning - using the brain-friendly Birkenbihl method. Which means, you never waste time cramming vocabulary and you don't need to learn any grammar rules.

I don't know anyone who’s happy learning vocabulary. About 90+% of all people using a language (mother tongue and foreign language) are not able to describe a grammar rule — only the teachers can do it. So there must be another way without the pain. And here it was!
I tried to learn English. The goal was to speak well without thinking about what to say. I just wanted to talk.

That's it. It took me more than a year, but I had an experience I’ll never forget. I was working on my phone with many customers and collecting orders. After a while, I put the orders from my notes into the computer. Wow! I had made a request for English courses - an order from a bookstore in Birmingham. How did I do it? Yes, I did it in English, and I didn't even realize it. It was automatic. The gap, switching from German to English, was gone - forever.

In the meantime, both my sons, Herwig and Gerwin, were now professionals in software development on the international stage. I had a Swiss partner and last year, I sold my shares to set up a new company with a new app - the Birkenbihl language learning movies. The digitalization of language learning - watch a movie and get the language. Based on subscription models, we sell it now in DACH, US, and European Single markets.
Finally, it’s worth mentioning, that I am the only one, who got the okay from Vera F.Birkenbihl (she died 2011), to follow the method of the new science of language learning and take it to the next level. I got the seal of approval for the "Birkenbihl Approach" to honor products they follow with the principle of "brain-friendly" learning method.

I have put all of this experience into a new book, the follow up of Birkenbihl's bestseller "Einfach Sprachen Lernen". I completed it with Katharina Rucker, she has been on board since 2008 and is still the best blogger for language learning knowledge. The book will be published in English in Q1-2020.

"Using the brain-friendly Birkenbihl method, you never waste time cramming vocabulary and you don't need to learn any grammar rules."



M7: How far is the Birkenbihl method’s idea of ‘learning a language need not be difficult’ serving its purpose of making language acquisition effortless?
EB:
 Let me say 100%. Because the "classical" way to learn a language is totally different from the way our brain works. Our brain is trying to find new things to discover, to get new experiences and so on. What is there to discover when you use a vocabulary list? For example, table - Tisch / table - la mesa, etc. it could also be shown as table - Katze (cat). There is no sense, no meaning, no context.

If you learn it the brain-friendly way as a full sentence, and you "de-code" it, your brain has enough context, and there are new words to learn. 

So it works, and it takes a minimum amount of time because our brain is memorizing everything in connections, like synapses, and that works very well, making it fun and available to use for the rest of your life.
The newest thing we have developed is the Movie(c) courses. Birkenbihl told us all the time, "a movie is the closest experience to real life". Watching a movie is like experiencing an actual event. 

When the "de-code line" is integrated into the movie,  entertainment and learning become cohesive. The "de-code line" in the movie, works as a karaoke player. The spoken word-pair is synchronized and highlighted. So you can close your eyes or your brain will automatically follow the decode line, and you will absorb the language. Repeat it, and you become perfect. It’s the digital way to learn a foreign language.

M7: How do you develop the movies and what is the approach for making users learn new languages easily with these movies?
EB: 
The classical way to learn a language is to cram grammar rules. Understanding and speaking are two processes in our brain that we have to learn separately. The idea developed by Birkenbihl was to find out how to use the mother tongue to understand a foreign language. She had done a lot of research and observed neuroscientists and decided to call the it the decode line which means you have two decoding lines – the upper line is the foreign language that you want to learn, the lower line is the word-by-word translation where you get the information about the meaning of the words.
It’s easy to follow them if you like to follow, but it’s enough if you just watch the movie. Your brain is automatically looking at the decode line and getting the information so if you repeat that you become more familiar with the sentence and you’ll understand it.

M7: How has your working with Vera F. Birkenbihl for more than 10 years helped you to come out with an intuitive method of language acquisition called the “Birkenbihl Approach”? What was the idea behind this?
EB: 
Birkenbihl told me that she’d had an experience with teachers and children. The problem was that the children didn’t enjoy learning vocabulary. It was, and still is, a pain. After a couple of days, all of the learned words go. So she thought, if most people have this problem then the problem couldn't be the people, it must be the method. There must be a better way.

After that, she started researching, and she found old documents, detailing how the aristocrats (the European marriage expansion) learned languages. There were many connections between the European Aristocrats, and this old document described how they learned. There was a transcript, a direct translation underneath and a live speaker. So the learners followed the speaker and read the word pairs.

All of the experiments she did, worked very well. I remember, it was approximately 2008, there was a teacher in Odelzhause who gave the children private English lessons Coached by Birkenbihl, in 3 months, the whole class were able to speak English very well and had no problem with vocabulary tests. That was the point we realized we were onto something. Based on our findings, my son built the first application for Windows. However, if you think that’s it, no. It took a lot of time to optimize it and to do all the beta tests. But after a while, we saw that it worked, and my experience was. WOW! - I got it.


"Watching a movie is like experiencing an actual event.   When the "de-code line" is integrated into the movie,  entertainment and learning become cohesive."


M7: How is the “Birkenbihl Approach” assisting people around the world to learn more languages efficiently?
EB:
Thanks, that’s an excellent question. You can do it, totally without any app, with paper or music. Take the lyrics of the song you love and start to “de-code” (translate it word-by-word). Yes, with the app, it’s much easier, and if you have a device ready, you can fit, learning a language, into every spare moment you have. So you waste no time, get entertained and learn simultaneously. After a while, you begin to speak automatically like a baby, who is listening for a long time.
When it becomes a year old, it starts with some words, after the second year it begins, from one day to the next to speak full sentences, only by listening. So while you improve upon your spelling skills, in your mother tongue or foreign language, always listen (day and night) in the background. Your sub-conscience will do the rest.
It is a kind of democratization of language learning; everybody can do it, independent of age or origin.

M7: You have played a vital role in digitalization of this language acquisition method. What inspired you to take up this challenge and what was your vision behind this?
EB:
Yes, first, it was a curiosity about the possibility and a challenge for myself to learn a language up to a level to be able to sell anything. Remember, I was a weak student.
Additionally, it was the feedback from the first beta tester, later from customers that they had the same experience I had, and they are now happy and successful.  So it was sensible. Yes, a little bit also to make it easier for people. So now, I see that the end of the traditional way to learn a language is coming.

Think about it... you can watch a movie, it doesn't matter which one, and you get automatically delivered the “de-code” line. I think we'll be able to get it in the near future, we are still working on it. So you don't need any teacher, because every child is learning it like their mother tongue, additionally. For example, a Hollywood movie uses about 1000 to 1500 unique words, a daily newspaper uses about 500 to 700 unique words. So let's watch Spanish movies this weekend, and that's it. My idea is that no child should have to suffer the cramming of vocabulary.


"While you grow up your spelling skills, in your mother tongue or foreign language, always listen in the background. Your sub-conscience will do the rest. It is a kind of democratization of language learning."



M7: As a language instructor, how important is resolving the problem of language acquisition as a barrier to businesses and marketing when globalization is the trend?
EB: It is vital. In two cases, one of them is, that companies spend a lot of money, year by year and nothing is changing. The costs go up, and success is equal to or less. Especially the production industries who have many difficulties, i.e. when the company is based in Germany, and the production is in Mexico. In this case, we can help. We can produce a learning movie for the technical process and add the “de-code line”, so the employees get both, the knowledge and the language. I think this is an excellent opportunity for all instructors and trainers of language. They can supply companies to work with the Birkenbihl method, and it gives more success with less time to spend. 

M7: Do you think that the Birkenbihl method will encourage more people around the world to learn languages swiftly?
EB:
Yes, that's what I hope, and it is essential to tell everybody that with this method it is possible, yes it works. Also, my hope is that it could connect people and bring more happiness. It's okay, if you start now and only spend 10 minutes every day. After approximately 6 weeks, you will get about 400 to 600 unique words. However, you can also do it in 2 weeks if you spend 10 minutes, 10 times a day (less than 2 hours). Alternatively, if you spend only 10 minutes every 3rd day, it takes a little longer. Do it when you want with the time that suits you. Overall, you get it.

M7: Knowing what you know now, what advice would you give your younger self?
EB:
Not much, except one thing: Whatever you do, if it doesn't work, find out how it could work, there is surely another way. But, just do it.

ABOUT BRAIN FRIENDLY

The Birkenbihl Approach (BBA) means, learning as the brain loves to learn. Our brain - look to the minds of children - how they like to discover and to understand how things work. It uses neuro mechanisms like abstracting rules (grammar) and background listening (to build synapses for spelling). To know more, visit Brain-Friendly.

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Rhythmlink Announces Investment Partnership With Graham Partners

Rhythmlink | March 20, 2023

Rhythmlink International, LLC is pleased to announce an exciting new investment partnership with Graham Partners, a Pennsylvania-based private equity firm that specializes in industrial technology and advanced manufacturing businesses. As a market leading designer and manufacturer of disposable neurodiagnostic devices and consumables, Rhythmlink has experienced significant growth since its founding in 2002, and this investment from Graham will ensure that growth continues along with the innovation and quality that Rhythmlink is known for. The investment was completed on March 15, 2023. “We’re excited about this next phase of Rhythmlink,” said Shawn Regan, CEO and Co-Founder. “Graham is an excellent partner for us because of their experience in medical technology and healthcare, and we see this as a growth opportunity for us to continue to innovate beyond our current capabilities,” said Regan. “I’m extremely proud of how far we’ve come, and this is a chance for Rhythmlink to expand our business without sacrificing what matters to us – improving patient care in our field of neurodiagnostics.” This new relationship with Graham follows Rhythmlink’s extremely successful partnership with New Heritage Capital, a Boston-based private equity firm that invested in Rhythmlink in 2019. Under partnership with New Heritage Rhythmlink grew rapidly, acquired Chalgren Enterprises and expanded their existing product line to include EMG and NCV diagnostic consumable devices. Joe Straczek, COO and CFO for Rhythmlink, spoke on the success of this relationship. “Our partnership with New Heritage was extremely beneficial,” said Straczek. “With their support, both financially and strategically, we were able to realize significant growth, particularly with the acquisition of Chalgren. We are immensely grateful for their partnership and guidance over the last four years.” Rhythmlink sells a full line of consumable neurodiagnostic devices for Critical Care, electroencephalography, intraoperative neuromonitoring, the ER and ICU, and long-term epilepsy monitoring. About Rhythmlink Rhythmlink International is a medical device manufacturing company specializing in devices that help connect patients to machines to record or elicit physiologic information. Rhythmlink designs, manufactures and distributes a variety of medical devices for intraoperative neuromonitoring, electroencephalography, evoked potentials, polysomnography, long-term monitoring epilepsy and critical care units. Founded by neurodiagnostic technologists and engineers in 2002, Rhythmlink enhances patient care worldwide by transforming medical device technology that links patients to equipment. Rhythmlink also offers custom packaging, custom products, private labeling and contract manufacturing services. About Graham Partners Graham Partners is a private investment firm focused on investing in technology-driven companies that are spurring innovation in advanced manufacturing, resulting in product substitutions, raw materials conversions, and disruptions to traditional end markets. Graham Partners can offer control or minority capital solutions and typically targets companies with EBITDA up to $50 million. Since the firm's founding in 1988 by Steven Graham, Graham Partners has closed over 150 acquisitions, joint ventures, financings, and divestitures. The committed capital raised since inception through the Graham Partners funds together with Graham-led co-investments totals approximately $4.0 billion as of December 31, 2022, which differs from Graham’s Regulatory Assets Under Management of approximately $2.2 billion as of December 31, 2022. Investors include high-net-worth individuals, college and university endowments, foundations, public and private pension plans, funds-of-funds, and other institutional investors. Based in suburban Philadelphia, the firm has access to extensive operating resources and industrial expertise and is a member of The Graham Group, an alliance of independent operating Graham Partners Inc. businesses, investment firms and philanthropic entities, which all share in the common legacy of entrepreneur Donald Graham.

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AI, HEALTHCARE ANALYTICS

Henry Schein One Announces Availability of AI Solutions for Dentrix Ascend

Henry Schein One | March 21, 2023

Henry Schein One, a joint venture of Henry Schein Inc. and Internet Brands, has reinforced their commitment to helping dental practices harness the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) by fully integrating AI solutions into Dentrix Ascend, the Company’s cloud-based practice management software. These solutions include Dentrix® Ascend Detect AI powered and manufactured by VideaHealth, and Dentrix Ascend Voice, powered by Bola AI. Both Dentrix Ascend Detect AI and Dentrix Ascend Voice offer powerful tools to help dental professionals improve case acceptance and elevate patient care through accurate diagnoses. Dentrix Ascend Detect AI is an AI-enabled X-ray analysis tool that provides real-time chairside insights to dentists and hygienists, and is powered by VideaHealth’s FDA-cleared computer-assisted detection (CADe) device. With this tool embedded directly into Dentrix, and now Dentrix Ascend, oral health professionals can seamlessly use AI in dental practices within their existing workflows. The software automatically analyzes and annotates images, enabling dental professionals to more quickly evaluate x-rays and provide more effective treatment recommendations to patients. As a result, dentists and hygienists can provide greater transparency to patients, improve trust and case acceptance, and elevate patient care. Dentrix Ascend Voice has advanced AI technology that improves speed and efficiency for dentists and hygienists when completing Perio exams and clinical notes. By letting hygienists easily record results verbally, it can improve Perio exam productivity, treatment acceptance, and patient referrals, helping to improve profitability. For dentists and hygienists, Dentrix Ascend Voice saves valuable time by simplifying their data entry. “We at Henry Schein One are committed to bringing AI solutions to dental practices that work naturally within their current workflow, so practitioners receive the powerful benefits without adding extra steps,” said Paul Hao, Chief Product Officer, Henry Schein One. “We’re excited to now bring our AI enabled X-ray analysis and voice recognition solutions to our Dentrix Ascend customers, and we’ll continue to invest in AI solutions that can help dentists provide the best possible patient care.” About VideaHealth VideaHealth is the dental AI platform trusted by the world's leading DSOs and dental clinicians. Rooted in AI research conducted at Harvard and MIT, VideaHealth’s FDA-cleared dental AI technology is clinically proven to improve diagnostic accuracy and treatment plans, enabling dentists to consistently deliver better patient care. Focused on driving clinical excellence, VideaHealth has the largest and most diverse data set in the market, which strengthens clinical decision-making abilities and patient relationships. Backed by leading venture capital firms Spark Capital, Zetta Venture Partners and Pillar VC, VideaHealth is headquartered in Boston. About Bola AI With Bola AI, the future of speech artificial intelligence (AI) is here. By harnessing the power of advanced technologies that work seamlessly, this platform can provide efficient, fully integrated, and accurate speech solutions for Perio Charting, Clinical Notes and more. With Bola AI, practices can empower themselves to create a smarter patient experience while improving operational efficiency and driving revenue. Get ready to revolutionize the way your practice operates with Bola AI. Bola AI is headquartered in Boston, MA. About Henry Schein One Henry Schein One, LLC, a joint venture between Henry Schein, Inc., and Internet Brands, aims to transform dentistry by ensuring practice success, improving patient experience, and increasing access to care. The company offers the only all-in-one suite of market-leading solutions for dental practices, including Dentrix®, Dentrix Ascend®, Dentrix® Enterprise, Jarvis Analytics™, TechCentral™, Sesame Communications, Lighthouse360®, Officite, and DentalPlans.com® as well as solutions offered through international companies, including Dentally, Software of Excellence, Logiciel Julie, InfoMed, axiUm, and LabNet, among others. With Henry Schein One’s suite of software solutions, dental practices and DSOs optimize profitability, ensure market-leading security, drive scalability and enhance clinical care. Headquartered in American Fork, Utah, the company’s software is used by more than 100,000 dental locations in the US and internationally. About Henry Schein, Inc. Henry Schein, Inc. is a solutions company for health care professionals powered by a network of people and technology. With more than 22,000 Team Schein Members worldwide, the Company's network of trusted advisors provides more than 1 million customers globally with more than 300 valued solutions that help improve operational success and clinical outcomes. Our Business, Clinical, Technology, and Supply Chain solutions help office-based dental and medical practitioners work more efficiently so they can provide quality care more effectively. These solutions also support dental laboratories, government and institutional health care clinics, as well as other alternate care sites.

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