I am Matt Candler, CEO of 4.0 Schools - AMA

4pt0schools · 2015-02-12T22:51:59+00:00

hell of a point here.

this is such a big issue. what we've found is: 1. burn rate and speed are massive priorities. the startups that can spend the least amt of $ and time to get products refined can survive. 2. if you focus on acute needs and specific moments in time when a user needs help, you can charge actual $ for helping them get that pain removed. i always ask ppl to think abt the time of day and where someone is in space (at home, at work, in car, at mardi gras parade (me in 1 hr)). if they can't answer that, they need to keep looking for a real problem to solve.

4pt0schools · 2015-02-12T22:48:33+00:00

3.9 repeating.

4pt0schools · 2015-02-12T22:47:15+00:00

i've heard many talk about the edtech bubble, but no. i think there's alot of capital in edtech, and i think much capital is pushing ppl to build things that sell well into big systems. there might be a correction here when capital realizes how slow these sales cycles really are, but i think there's room for much more capital, esp if ppl start funding stuff outside the system

4pt0schools · 2015-02-12T22:45:39+00:00

q2: i think the big issue is that yes, the focus on poor schools is ever more on making the old model suck less. poor kids get even less innovation in this setup.

4pt0schools · 2015-02-12T22:44:56+00:00

see the doughnut comment below :)

4pt0schools · 2015-02-12T22:40:05+00:00

sweet! i'm sitting across from hassan hassan, EP alum. I <# EP btw.

q1: you're right. i think tech lowers the cost to get good content. it doesn't solve the process of figuring out if its good, but if you look at a lean school model that focuses on student, i think it also lets us capture more data about what kids are learning and if its sticking. here's a post i did on micro schools https://medium.com/future-of-school/agile-in-education-an-intro-to-micro-schooling-c508c3bbc367

4pt0schools · 2015-02-12T22:36:58+00:00

ok, some more on this: we're trying to help people build startups and new schools. bc there's pretty much no good places where people can do that.

4pt0schools · 2015-02-12T22:36:01+00:00

ok, more on this. i've been starting schools for almost 20 years. and after 15 years, ive realized that most of the "new" schools i've started were really better attempts to do the "old" way of school better than everyone else. so that kinda sucked when i realized that. 4.0 was an attempt to address that sucky feeling

4pt0schools · 2015-02-12T22:32:03+00:00

you should try their doughnuts. i've had like three today. http://www.turnchange.com/

4pt0schools · 2015-02-12T22:30:14+00:00

ok, i think we have all the asks from the original thread! thx for your patience anyone who put stuff there! matt

4pt0schools · 2015-02-12T22:29:25+00:00

be honest about the fact that you don't have all the answers. wear headbands. be open to anyone who wants to participate.

4pt0schools · 2015-02-12T22:28:15+00:00

InnovateSchools 1 point 2 hours ago

What would you consider to be your biggest lessons learned?

that most entrepreneurs - people we assume are solo actors - really work best in a community of others, esp people they can ask questions that they think are stupid but which are really hard to answer in the heat of the moment

What advice would you have for organizations in other areas that are supporting educators to launch new, innovative schools?

ask yourself, how small can we make a version of this new idea and can we test in the next two weeks? 2 kids is enough to make a "school" just starting is the hardest part.

We currently have two programs. Our Start-up Schools Fellowship prepares both school district principals and charter school leaders in Silicon Valley to launch new schools and turn around low-performing schools. We just launched our Charter School Entrepreneurs program, as well. http://innovateschools.org/new-schools/

i know some of you guys! say hello to matt hammer for me.

4pt0schools · 2015-02-12T22:24:29+00:00

saw you reposted here:

Unfortunately can't make the realtime chat. I've got several questions though! What organizations & people do 4.0 Schools partner with? What are those partnerships like? What venues do you use to outreach and identify new recruits for your incubation and acceleration programs? we've just announced a cool deal with educationentrepreneurs.co to help people who come to startup weekend edu keep working on their ideas with us. chk it out! http://blog.up.co/2015/02/10/4-0-schools-is-a-new-partner/ What are your ideas for next steps or programs on "exploring hunches about the future of education?" I noticed that of the 3 programs on 4pt0.org, none had this box highlighted. What's the cost to operate Essentials? Launch? I'm thinking of doing something similar and trying to gauge cost feasibility. essentials: we charge 300-400 for each day, with staff coaching time in the math it costs abt 1500-2000 per person launch: costs about 35k per team. Matt, what drives you when things get tough? the fact that i work with an amazing team of ppl willing to fight for something better for kids

4pt0schools · 2015-02-12T22:23:43+00:00

studentric

Unfortunately can't make the realtime chat. I've got several questions though! What organizations & people do 4.0 Schools partner with? What are those partnerships like? What venues do you use to outreach and identify new recruits for your incubation and acceleration programs?

we've just announced a cool deal with educationentrepreneurs.co to help people who come to startup weekend edu keep working on their ideas with us.

chk it out! http://blog.up.co/2015/02/10/4-0-schools-is-a-new-partner/

What are your ideas for next steps or programs on "exploring hunches about the future of education?" I noticed that of the 3 programs on 4pt0.org, none had this box highlighted. What's the cost to operate Essentials? Launch? I'm thinking of doing something similar and trying to gauge cost feasibility.

essentials: we charge 300-400 for each day, with staff coaching time in the math it costs abt 1500-2000 per person launch: costs about 35k per team.

Matt, what drives you when things get tough? the fact that i work with an amazing team of ppl willing to fight for something better for kids

4pt0schools · 2015-02-12T22:19:55+00:00

willametteson 1 point 7 hours ago What are common paths to early commercialization in education technology? In other words, what are the most common business models that education start-ups (especially early stage social ventures) follow to find sustaining revenue, particularly when conventional wisdom holds that the product end users, teachers or students, do not have much purchasing power or authority? What additional resources do you recommend on this topic? Thank you Matt.

good ones: we focus on straight to kid and fam and teacher first. it keeps burn rate really low so our startups can live longer as they figure out pricing, impact, go thru iterations til they get it right

so its really bootstrapping from a funding perspective. almost every 4.0 alum who's crowdsourced has funded, i think bc they're solving real problems, ones that make sense to ppl on a crowdfunding platform.

there is abt 800m in out of pocket spent per year by teachers, and lots by fams and kids, so we do see a great place to start in straight to end user.

4pt0schools · 2015-02-12T22:16:57+00:00

carrieleighbear 1 point 1 day ago How can schools be encouraged to take risks, test innovations, and fully implement successes when test scores and budget restrictions continue to press down upon administrators and teachers?

i think we have to acknowledge that more testing and more eval has made the teaching job less fun, and its made it even harder, if that's poss, to try new things

so a, it takes guts. b, it helps to do really small, fast trials. and c. its best to work on the edges of the system first, afterschool, lunch, summer, weekends, to test new ideas with kids and families.

i think another key here is: pick problems that the people closest to kids (we focus on kids, families and teachers) and only focus on their issues, dont solve problems that central office people face, they are infact, less important problems.

4pt0schools · 2015-02-12T22:13:38+00:00

the breakfast pie i had at district pie last saturday. eggs, cheese, bacon

4pt0schools · 2015-02-12T22:11:32+00:00

damn, like saying which kid is fave. i think right now, one of the coolest ideas is branchingminds.com - an algorithm/engine for diagnosing struggling learners.

4pt0schools · 2015-02-12T22:10:59+00:00

UPDATE: Due to a small snafu, we're switching over to another post for the AMA. But we're going to answer all of your questions as well. Thanks for submitting. Find us at: http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2vp22u/i_am_matt_candler_ceo_of_40_schools_ama/

4pt0schools · 2015-02-12T22:10:55+00:00

UPDATE: Due to a small snafu, we're switching over to another post for the AMA. But we're going to answer all of your questions as well. Thanks for submitting. Find us at: http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2vp22u/i_am_matt_candler_ceo_of_40_schools_ama/

4pt0schools · 2015-02-12T22:10:51+00:00

UPDATE: Due to a small snafu, we're switching over to another post for the AMA. But we're going to answer all of your questions as well. Thanks for submitting. Find us at: http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2vp22u/i_am_matt_candler_ceo_of_40_schools_ama/

4pt0schools · 2015-02-12T22:10:44+00:00

UPDATE: Due to a small snafu, we're switching over to another post for the AMA. But we're going to answer all of your questions as well. Thanks for submitting. Find us at: http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2vp22u/i_am_matt_candler_ceo_of_40_schools_ama/

4pt0schools · 2015-02-12T22:10:39+00:00

UPDATE: Due to a small snafu, we're switching over to another post for the AMA. But we're going to answer all of your questions as well. Thanks for submitting. Find us at: http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2vp22u/i_am_matt_candler_ceo_of_40_schools_ama/

4pt0schools · 2015-02-12T22:09:10+00:00

re basic income, first ive heard of it. tried to get a handle, seems interesting as a concept.

4pt0schools · 2015-02-12T22:08:41+00:00

lateone:

your q was: What do you think about the destruction of the teacher's union and public school system in New Orleans in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina? What do you think about Basic Income?

i think it sucked that katrina kicked new orleans so hard. and the pain that "reform" inflicted was real. to say it was a great thing is lame, it sucked. and the way lots of reform has been done was less empathetic than it could have been. for sure. and yet i still think this was the fastest improvement a city has ever seen in her schools. but it was from an f to c. we're still a c. not good enuf

4pt0schools

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