Today we’d like to introduce you to Paul Adams.
Hi Paul, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I grew up in the rolling hills of rural eastern Washington, working in my family’s business. We designed and manufactured diagnostic tests for animal diseases, and we kept a small farm for that work. Growing up, I did a bit of everything: janitorial work, lab work, quality control, inventory, marketing. Entrepreneurial life, with all its risks, felt normal to me, so starting a company of my own eventually seemed natural.
My parents homeschooled me with a classical, old-school education: lots of writing, history, Scripture, and original languages. I also listened to an enormous amount of classical and early music. At the University of Idaho, just across the border from home, I started out double majoring in microbiology and music, in case the family business needed me, but music won. I finished with a bachelor’s in piano performance and went on to graduate school at the University of Kansas, where being surrounded by so much talent made me a far better pianist.
Growing up rural also shaped what I built later. The best teachers were five hours away in the Seattle area, which was hard to reach for a family running a small business. I’m grateful for the teachers I had, but as an ambitious young pianist, I would have loved to study with someone in Germany or Russia, with their piano actually moving my keys.
At KU, my professor noticed I was the farm kid who fixed tractors and built computers from spare parts, so he put me in charge of the tech for Pianos Without Borders, a program teaching underserved students in Kansas City remotely from our campus in Lawrence. We used Skype plus separate software that connected the two pianos. It was clumsy, with firewall issues and constant reliability problems, but because the pianos were linked, the lessons were remarkably immersive. I watched the students thrive, and I started thinking.
That was in 2016, four years before COVID. I began building with my friend Taehee, a developer who stayed up late night after night with me working on a dream, and I officially started the company in 2017. Our proof of concept went straight into Pianos Without Borders. What I didn’t know, and I’m glad I didn’t, was how hard it is to build and scale a video calling app. We built a Chrome version, then a Windows app (piano teachers didn’t want Windows), then an iOS app with a development firm when COVID hit. That one worked, but it only held two people, with no room for auditors, group classes, or extra cameras.
Near the end of my time at the University of Kansas, I met my wife, whose family was in Texas, so we eventually moved down to the Austin area to be close to them and enjoy the Texas ranch life.
Then Alden, an engineer I’d worked well with at that firm, reached out after his contract ended. He’d been building something in his spare time that he thought could solve our problems. It became our fourth try, and for me, the fourth try is the charm. Alden built an incredibly robust framework, one we can trust when kids are counting on it for their lessons.
Today, 1on1 Piano brings up to 99 pianists into one live video room, each playing on their own connected piano. It has a camera switcher, a whiteboard, pre-made scenes, recording that captures your scenes so you can create content while you teach, and streaming to YouTube or straight through the app. We’ve also added a free listing service that matches students with teachers by musical interest, skill level, and personality.
As gamified apps take over piano learning, I’m convinced we need real teachers more than ever. Piano is deeply athletic, and only a human knows what it feels like to be a human at the keyboard. Without that guidance, most people plateau early. 1on1 Piano gives students a path to a great teacher wherever they live, and gives teachers a livelihood. I’m proud of that, and I can’t wait to share it with the world.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Not at all. To my great surprise, it has taken ten years to get an app I feel confident putting in front of the public.
The first struggle was getting the concept onto a platform enough people could test, so we could get real feedback while working on a very limited budget. That’s how we ended up with a Chrome version first. Then we learned that piano teachers, our primary customers, didn’t like using Windows, which we had picked as the most economical way to build a dedicated app.
When COVID hit, we made the decision to raise money and invest in iOS and Android, because mobile support had become essential. It cost a lot, and I had never worked with a development firm before, so there was a steep learning curve. One of the hardest lessons was that firms struggle to keep their best people on a single project, and real-time video calling is the kind of work that needs the very best.
The final struggle, and probably the biggest, was learning how to hire and manage great engineers while keeping a close eye on spending, marketing, and all the other costs that come with building an app. Every one of those lessons shaped the version of 1on1 Piano we have today, and I wouldn’t trade them.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m a pianist first. I love to perform, and one thing every performer ends up doing is teaching. What surprised me is how much I’ve come to love it, especially when I can help a student reach the point where they can play the music they love. I find that incredibly motivating.
I also love learning how people think. People are the most interesting thing in the universe that I know of. Someday we will see God face to face, but for now we learn to love those made in His image, so teaching feels like a great privilege. I believe music lets us truly feel what being in the presence of the divine must be like, even though we are separated from it for a time here on earth. I’m not the only musician who has felt this way. Composers I deeply respect, like Bach, Dvořák, Brahms, and Beethoven, seem to have felt it too. It’s something you just have to experience, and helping a student get there is very special.
What sets me apart is that I live in two worlds. I have a performance background in piano, but I also grew up fixing tractors, building computers, and working in my family’s biotech company. That combination is what led me to build 1on1 Piano, a platform that connects pianos directly inside a live video lesson so a teacher anywhere in the world can actually move a student’s keys. I’m most proud that it gives students access to a great teacher no matter where they live, and gives teachers a way to make a living doing what they love.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
I think I overshared in the first question, so that’s probably about all. The photos I included are me with my family this year for my parent’s 50th anniversary in Eastern Washington State. My dog is named Ruthy and she’s 5 months old. The app you see is my app, 1on1 Piano, and I was testing the virtual keyboard. There is a picture with my wife, and I also have a property north of Austin with some sheep and goats.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://1on1piano.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/1on1piano/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/1on1PianoApp
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/virtual-piano-lessons-llc
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@1on1piano
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@1on1.match
