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On April 17, 2017, my dad passed away
For the last 13 months, I worked @CBinsights and also ran his chemical manufacturing biz in India
It was acquired on June 1
Lessons, thank yous and observations here
cbinsights.com/research/team-…
For the last 13 months, I worked @CBinsights and also ran his chemical manufacturing biz in India
It was acquired on June 1
Lessons, thank yous and observations here
cbinsights.com/research/team-…
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🤣 Spotted our first cap table at Forge Prep (created by a 6th grader)
Look at the role clarity.
Particularly like the CFO job description :)
Look at the role clarity.
Particularly like the CFO job description :)
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What preschool in NJ most increases my kid's odds of getting into Harvard?
(asking for a friend)
(asking for a friend)
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You can just do things!!
One of my favorite stories of this still early school year @ForgePrep
A middle school student at Forge cold emailed Professor Shawn Grain Carter of the Fashion Institute of Technology while researching runway shows for her National History Day project
respond via email but agreed to come to Forge for the interview
Shawn helped launched Bergdorf Goodman's famous luxury home division and is a frequent expert analyst on CNN and Good Morning America..
and she just said yes and shared her time and expertise with a student who took the initiative to ask
You can't imagine what this does for a student's self-confidence
I could see it as the student gave Shawn a tour of Forge after their interview
Every Friday, we celebrate risks our students take in an end-of-day segment called "You can just do things" and this was more proof of that
Thanks to Professor Carter for her incredible generosity of time and spirit and for investing in our students
One of my favorite stories of this still early school year @ForgePrep
A middle school student at Forge cold emailed Professor Shawn Grain Carter of the Fashion Institute of Technology while researching runway shows for her National History Day project
respond via email but agreed to come to Forge for the interview
Shawn helped launched Bergdorf Goodman's famous luxury home division and is a frequent expert analyst on CNN and Good Morning America..
and she just said yes and shared her time and expertise with a student who took the initiative to ask
You can't imagine what this does for a student's self-confidence
I could see it as the student gave Shawn a tour of Forge after their interview
Every Friday, we celebrate risks our students take in an end-of-day segment called "You can just do things" and this was more proof of that
Thanks to Professor Carter for her incredible generosity of time and spirit and for investing in our students
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Fidgets in schools are a plague
Somehow we've normalized not paying attention + distracting your classmates under the banner of vague therapy-speak
Somehow we've normalized not paying attention + distracting your classmates under the banner of vague therapy-speak
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Don't hear many stories like this (unfortunately)
Sports gambling is a giant self-inflicted wound for the 🇺🇸
Like the opioid crisis but more insidious because the impacts are less visible
I see middle school students colloquially using gambling terms and language regularly now
I wonder if anything changes this
cjr.org/the-interview/…
Sports gambling is a giant self-inflicted wound for the 🇺🇸
Like the opioid crisis but more insidious because the impacts are less visible
I see middle school students colloquially using gambling terms and language regularly now
I wonder if anything changes this
cjr.org/the-interview/…
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Government services are being flooded cuz of AI
This is really interesting as gov't bureaucracies often make things difficult so having AI be able to navigate them on behalf of citizens feels like a good thing
But overwhelming these services with AI generated requests, s, etc is going to stress systems not made for this level of inbound
A host of gov tech tools to help automate responses is likely already emerging (or will emerge) but what I find interesting is that the relationship and expectations between citizens and their government is changing dramatically right now
This is really interesting as gov't bureaucracies often make things difficult so having AI be able to navigate them on behalf of citizens feels like a good thing
But overwhelming these services with AI generated requests, s, etc is going to stress systems not made for this level of inbound
A host of gov tech tools to help automate responses is likely already emerging (or will emerge) but what I find interesting is that the relationship and expectations between citizens and their government is changing dramatically right now
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Young people don't believe what they see
Last week, I taught classes (5th to 8th grade) in which students designed ads for the businesses they're creating at @ForgePrep
I showed some high converting ads from recent'ish history (digital ads + physical flyers)
The ads often pre-dated the current AI boom, but...
...students immediately thought the images were AI created
Nothing looked "real" to them
The fact that young people seem to believe and trust so little of what they see is very interesting
TBH, I was very surprised at how pervasive the "That is so AI" comments were
I do think this portends some important things for culture, media, community and more
I'm unsure exactly what those implications are right now, but I know they will be big
Last week, I taught classes (5th to 8th grade) in which students designed ads for the businesses they're creating at @ForgePrep
I showed some high converting ads from recent'ish history (digital ads + physical flyers)
The ads often pre-dated the current AI boom, but...
...students immediately thought the images were AI created
Nothing looked "real" to them
The fact that young people seem to believe and trust so little of what they see is very interesting
TBH, I was very surprised at how pervasive the "That is so AI" comments were
I do think this portends some important things for culture, media, community and more
I'm unsure exactly what those implications are right now, but I know they will be big
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Students kept asking if we will have uniforms
So we said, you decide
I was surprised by the results (as you'll see in the video)
Their persuasive speeches brought together their work on claim, evidence, reasoning (CER) and pathos, logos, ethos and cost modeling and much more. eing more afraid of public speaking than death 😳, but @ForgePrep students will get lots of reps doing this
And I expect they’ll be able to own any room they walk into very soon
Very proud of our students for their speeches that preceded this vote
So we said, you decide
I was surprised by the results (as you'll see in the video)
Their persuasive speeches brought together their work on claim, evidence, reasoning (CER) and pathos, logos, ethos and cost modeling and much more. eing more afraid of public speaking than death 😳, but @ForgePrep students will get lots of reps doing this
And I expect they’ll be able to own any room they walk into very soon
Very proud of our students for their speeches that preceded this vote
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Our 5th to 8th graders are creating their first resume
WTH?!!
As you start a school, you learn the absolute crazy amount of stuff schools have to buy
And so instead of buying everything from others, we're letting students run & operate some of those businesses including:
* photmerch store
But to get on the 3-4 person teams that run these businesses, students have to write a resume, apply and interview
Resume examples below
They're excited (and nervous) for the process and the prospect of running a complete business with Forge as the 1st customer
If they run it well, they also share in the profits
WTH?!!
As you start a school, you learn the absolute crazy amount of stuff schools have to buy
And so instead of buying everything from others, we're letting students run & operate some of those businesses including:
* photmerch store
But to get on the 3-4 person teams that run these businesses, students have to write a resume, apply and interview
Resume examples below
They're excited (and nervous) for the process and the prospect of running a complete business with Forge as the 1st customer
If they run it well, they also share in the profits
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Andreessen Horowitz's new college alternative is smart...
...and it is the first of many such schools
Why it's smart?
It's a "no lose" proposition
▪️ Help develop talented people who could join your portfolio companies.
▪️ Build relationships with future founders years before ild a reputation for producing successful people.
That last point deserves an asterisk.
If you select exceptionally capable, motivated, technical students, many would probably succeed wherever they went. Separating the value of the education from the quality of the selection will be hard.
The Ivy League is familiar with this arrangement.
Why it's the start of a trend?
▪️Colleges increasingly let in people who are not qualified...
▪️...and in the pursuit of tuition dollars, they graduate unqualified students
The result is the college degree is increasingly less credible among employers
So at some point, more companies are going to build their own alternatives to college not as an altruistic endeavor but out of enlightened self-interest
Props to A16Z for taking a stab
I imagine in a few years, some @ForgePrep students might even choose a path like this
...and it is the first of many such schools
Why it's smart?
It's a "no lose" proposition
▪️ Help develop talented people who could join your portfolio companies.
▪️ Build relationships with future founders years before ild a reputation for producing successful people.
That last point deserves an asterisk.
If you select exceptionally capable, motivated, technical students, many would probably succeed wherever they went. Separating the value of the education from the quality of the selection will be hard.
The Ivy League is familiar with this arrangement.
Why it's the start of a trend?
▪️Colleges increasingly let in people who are not qualified...
▪️...and in the pursuit of tuition dollars, they graduate unqualified students
The result is the college degree is increasingly less credible among employers
So at some point, more companies are going to build their own alternatives to college not as an altruistic endeavor but out of enlightened self-interest
Props to A16Z for taking a stab
I imagine in a few years, some @ForgePrep students might even choose a path like this
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Jensen Huang of Nvidia thinks kids don't need to learn basic math
With audiobooks,why even learn to read?
""It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it"
With audiobooks,why even learn to read?
""It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it"
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Startup idea: A rigorous college that just admits the most qualified students
Oddly, this is a crazy idea
Oddly, this is a crazy idea
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Drone photo of the @ForgePrep campus
We signed a lease in November 2025 and then...
* gut renovated as 73 year old building including brutal HVAC / ventilation work
* recruited 35 amazing students & founding families
* built an entirely new type of curriculum
* assembled an excers
* got into the WSJ and other media pubs
* grew our newsletter to 4300+
It's been fun to be back grinding in full startup mode.
Stay tuned though...lots more coming
We signed a lease in November 2025 and then...
* gut renovated as 73 year old building including brutal HVAC / ventilation work
* recruited 35 amazing students & founding families
* built an entirely new type of curriculum
* assembled an excers
* got into the WSJ and other media pubs
* grew our newsletter to 4300+
It's been fun to be back grinding in full startup mode.
Stay tuned though...lots more coming
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Best reason I've seen that Silicon Valley Jehovah's Witnesses don't really believe their own predictions
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Yesterday, we had our first-ever Monday morning meeting and 2 of our students led the whole school in The Pledge of Allegiance.
It was awesome.
Thx to 2 of our students, Teddy and Arjan, for taking the lead and kicking off this Monday morning tradition.
It was awesome.
Thx to 2 of our students, Teddy and Arjan, for taking the lead and kicking off this Monday morning tradition.
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This was pretty shocking
Our students were in school at Forge Prep for 3 days this past week, and...
..for that entire time, they never used a Chromebook or watched a video
No phones or smart watches either
...and they survived
Oddly, they seemed to actually like it
ots of games played (Jenga, Uno, basketball, volleyball and Blokus being favorites)
Our students were in school at Forge Prep for 3 days this past week, and...
..for that entire time, they never used a Chromebook or watched a video
No phones or smart watches either
...and they survived
Oddly, they seemed to actually like it
ots of games played (Jenga, Uno, basketball, volleyball and Blokus being favorites)
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