1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:02,360 Speaker 1: We'll look to see a black tech, green money. It's 2 00:00:02,360 --> 00:00:05,160 Speaker 1: so good to be with you guys again, bringing you 3 00:00:05,240 --> 00:00:09,799 Speaker 1: another remarkable founder here today. Or your Ende is an 4 00:00:09,920 --> 00:00:14,720 Speaker 1: education entrepreneur serving as chancellor at Campus Edu. More than 5 00:00:14,720 --> 00:00:17,800 Speaker 1: a decade of experience using technology to solve a variety 6 00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:20,919 Speaker 1: of challenges in the higher education system. Campus is on 7 00:00:20,960 --> 00:00:25,320 Speaker 1: a mission to maximize access to world class education. It's 8 00:00:25,360 --> 00:00:29,640 Speaker 1: a new kind of college. Campus offers accredited career focused 9 00:00:29,880 --> 00:00:33,320 Speaker 1: degree programs to kickstart your education. These are professors who 10 00:00:33,680 --> 00:00:37,720 Speaker 1: also teach at top ranked colleges. They provide live classes. 11 00:00:38,080 --> 00:00:39,280 Speaker 1: It's fully online. 12 00:00:39,560 --> 00:00:42,040 Speaker 2: Welcome today, Thanks for having me. 13 00:00:42,040 --> 00:00:46,440 Speaker 1: Will absolutely thank you for being here and in advance 14 00:00:46,560 --> 00:00:48,559 Speaker 1: like thank you for what you do. We've had so 15 00:00:48,560 --> 00:00:52,760 Speaker 1: many conversations in our social discourse about like access to 16 00:00:53,520 --> 00:00:58,520 Speaker 1: really high quality education. How do you define world class 17 00:00:58,640 --> 00:01:02,440 Speaker 1: education and what does it mean in a community college context? 18 00:01:04,160 --> 00:01:08,360 Speaker 2: Yeah, to me, world class education is first about helping 19 00:01:08,400 --> 00:01:12,319 Speaker 2: students identify what is my purpose? What did God or 20 00:01:12,400 --> 00:01:14,600 Speaker 2: as gen Z likes to say, in the universe put 21 00:01:14,640 --> 00:01:17,480 Speaker 2: me on this planet to go do? Which we define 22 00:01:17,480 --> 00:01:21,200 Speaker 2: specifically as what's at the intersection of what you're good at? 23 00:01:21,319 --> 00:01:23,040 Speaker 2: You know, something that's always just come a little bit 24 00:01:23,040 --> 00:01:26,200 Speaker 2: easier to you than for other people. What you're passionate 25 00:01:26,200 --> 00:01:28,400 Speaker 2: about and what the world is willing to pay you for, 26 00:01:28,520 --> 00:01:30,000 Speaker 2: that's your purpose. The first thing we do is we 27 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:33,520 Speaker 2: help students define that, understand that, and a lot of 28 00:01:33,520 --> 00:01:35,760 Speaker 2: times they have no idea the full menu of options, 29 00:01:35,760 --> 00:01:39,160 Speaker 2: so we expand their the consciousness in that way, and 30 00:01:39,200 --> 00:01:41,280 Speaker 2: then we help you get the skills and the knowledge 31 00:01:41,600 --> 00:01:45,480 Speaker 2: and the network to make that purpose your life's work. 32 00:01:45,560 --> 00:01:47,920 Speaker 2: And so that's what world class education means for us 33 00:01:47,920 --> 00:01:50,640 Speaker 2: on campus specifically, you know, you got to inspire the students, 34 00:01:50,680 --> 00:01:54,800 Speaker 2: and so we hire all of our faculty as part 35 00:01:54,800 --> 00:01:58,360 Speaker 2: time instructions instructors with us. They're also full time instructors 36 00:01:58,360 --> 00:02:02,160 Speaker 2: at other top fifty universities in the country Princeton, Stanford, 37 00:02:02,480 --> 00:02:05,520 Speaker 2: Howard Morehouse. These are great schools, and it's not just 38 00:02:05,560 --> 00:02:08,399 Speaker 2: because they're great and really intelligent faculty, but it's also 39 00:02:08,400 --> 00:02:10,920 Speaker 2: because they have a unique ability to inspire students. And 40 00:02:10,960 --> 00:02:12,960 Speaker 2: so that's what it's really about. It's about helping students 41 00:02:13,040 --> 00:02:16,880 Speaker 2: identify the purpose, inspiring them to believe in themselves, and 42 00:02:16,919 --> 00:02:20,120 Speaker 2: then getting them the skills, the network and the knowledge 43 00:02:20,160 --> 00:02:21,640 Speaker 2: to make their purpose, their life's work. 44 00:02:22,680 --> 00:02:25,960 Speaker 1: So getting in the door at a university or a 45 00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:29,440 Speaker 1: college is one thing. Getting access is one thing. Completing 46 00:02:29,639 --> 00:02:34,320 Speaker 1: is a completely separate thing. What systemically do you find 47 00:02:34,919 --> 00:02:38,480 Speaker 1: is responsible for low completion rates in our community? 48 00:02:39,639 --> 00:02:42,560 Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean it's there's certainly several factors. I think 49 00:02:42,560 --> 00:02:45,959 Speaker 2: It's like, in some level, part of this is like 50 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:48,760 Speaker 2: a gym membership. It's like everybody wants to be the 51 00:02:48,840 --> 00:02:50,720 Speaker 2: kind of person who goes to the gym. That's how 52 00:02:50,760 --> 00:02:55,320 Speaker 2: they get a membership. But sometimes actually leveraging using that 53 00:02:55,320 --> 00:02:58,359 Speaker 2: gym membership consistently putting in the work is a lot 54 00:02:58,480 --> 00:03:00,880 Speaker 2: is a lot more challenging. And sometimes you sign up 55 00:03:00,919 --> 00:03:04,160 Speaker 2: and you know you're feeling pumped, but actually keeping that 56 00:03:04,200 --> 00:03:06,520 Speaker 2: motivation all the way through is a challenge. And so 57 00:03:06,560 --> 00:03:07,800 Speaker 2: that's I think a big part of it. And then 58 00:03:07,919 --> 00:03:11,400 Speaker 2: life gets in the way. You know, education at the 59 00:03:11,400 --> 00:03:15,200 Speaker 2: college level is a multi year investment, and you know 60 00:03:15,320 --> 00:03:18,240 Speaker 2: a lot of folks struggle to make medium and long 61 00:03:18,360 --> 00:03:21,359 Speaker 2: term strategies as opposed to just optimizing for the short term. 62 00:03:21,360 --> 00:03:23,280 Speaker 2: And so a typical thing we see a lot of 63 00:03:23,320 --> 00:03:25,480 Speaker 2: two year college students in particular, who are you know, 64 00:03:25,520 --> 00:03:29,960 Speaker 2: eighty percent of whom are working whilst in school? Is 65 00:03:29,960 --> 00:03:32,440 Speaker 2: is this? You know, students will be working at Chipotle 66 00:03:33,120 --> 00:03:35,680 Speaker 2: and it works with the class times, but then you 67 00:03:35,720 --> 00:03:38,280 Speaker 2: know Walmart offers them an additional one dollar an hour 68 00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:40,400 Speaker 2: and they drop out of school to go take that 69 00:03:40,440 --> 00:03:42,840 Speaker 2: new job, and it's like, you know, our job as 70 00:03:42,960 --> 00:03:45,040 Speaker 2: educators have to be to remind them no, No, hey, 71 00:03:45,320 --> 00:03:48,080 Speaker 2: student will like, what what did you tell me on 72 00:03:48,160 --> 00:03:50,360 Speaker 2: first day at orientation? You told me you want to 73 00:03:50,360 --> 00:03:52,960 Speaker 2: be X. You want to make this dream come true? 74 00:03:53,080 --> 00:03:55,560 Speaker 2: Is leaving Chipotle for Walmart for one more dollar an 75 00:03:55,600 --> 00:03:57,440 Speaker 2: hour and dropping out of school going to get you 76 00:03:57,480 --> 00:04:00,800 Speaker 2: closer to or fur? They're from your own stated career 77 00:04:00,840 --> 00:04:02,480 Speaker 2: and life goal. And then you have to remind the 78 00:04:02,480 --> 00:04:04,320 Speaker 2: students of that. And then what you'll see is when 79 00:04:04,320 --> 00:04:06,760 Speaker 2: you just have somebody there to do that over and 80 00:04:06,760 --> 00:04:09,240 Speaker 2: over and over, the students will actually get it and 81 00:04:09,280 --> 00:04:11,600 Speaker 2: they'll they'll make the right choices. So what we do 82 00:04:11,640 --> 00:04:13,440 Speaker 2: is we make sure that for every fifty students when 83 00:04:13,520 --> 00:04:17,000 Speaker 2: rolls at campus, there's a success coach who is there 84 00:04:17,040 --> 00:04:19,120 Speaker 2: to do that. This is not just an academic advisor 85 00:04:19,160 --> 00:04:21,000 Speaker 2: who's there to tell you a classes take. No, it's 86 00:04:21,040 --> 00:04:24,440 Speaker 2: like this person is paid, like their literal job is 87 00:04:24,480 --> 00:04:26,279 Speaker 2: to make sure that all fifty of that their kids graduate, 88 00:04:26,760 --> 00:04:29,240 Speaker 2: and so they're constantly you know, kind of like my 89 00:04:29,320 --> 00:04:32,080 Speaker 2: Nigerian mom. They'll kick your ass when you're slacking, you know, 90 00:04:32,120 --> 00:04:33,520 Speaker 2: and they'll be a shoulder to cry on when you 91 00:04:33,520 --> 00:04:36,280 Speaker 2: get knocked down and otherwise support you all the way 92 00:04:36,279 --> 00:04:38,400 Speaker 2: to graduation. You know. 93 00:04:38,520 --> 00:04:42,520 Speaker 1: How do you reconsider the role or reimagine the role 94 00:04:42,520 --> 00:04:45,200 Speaker 1: of faculty compared to traditional institutions. 95 00:04:46,440 --> 00:04:48,920 Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean I think, as I said, like to start, 96 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:52,640 Speaker 2: faculty have to inspire, so we don't hire you know, boring, 97 00:04:53,160 --> 00:04:58,040 Speaker 2: you know, like just like you know, like uninspirational faculty, 98 00:04:58,080 --> 00:05:00,040 Speaker 2: we like to get it. To get hired at CA, 99 00:05:00,400 --> 00:05:03,359 Speaker 2: yes he has to be it from a top reputable institution, 100 00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:06,400 Speaker 2: but also to be charismatic, engaging, exciting. You used to 101 00:05:06,400 --> 00:05:09,320 Speaker 2: be passionate about what you're teaching because students can you know, 102 00:05:09,400 --> 00:05:11,240 Speaker 2: they can feed off of that and it actually ends 103 00:05:11,320 --> 00:05:14,320 Speaker 2: up inspiring and motivating them and then improving their outcomes. 104 00:05:14,360 --> 00:05:17,040 Speaker 2: So to me, that's certainly one way in which our 105 00:05:17,080 --> 00:05:19,719 Speaker 2: faculty are better than the average faculty, even at elite 106 00:05:19,800 --> 00:05:23,240 Speaker 2: universities across the country. Thing Number two is our faculty 107 00:05:23,320 --> 00:05:27,280 Speaker 2: tend to genuinely want to teach. In a lot of universities, 108 00:05:27,640 --> 00:05:29,960 Speaker 2: many of the faculty they want to do research, right, 109 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:32,960 Speaker 2: they don't actually want to teach. They have to teach. 110 00:05:32,960 --> 00:05:35,280 Speaker 2: In some cases, maybe they know they're on the path 111 00:05:35,320 --> 00:05:38,360 Speaker 2: for tenure and so they have to do whatever is 112 00:05:38,400 --> 00:05:40,840 Speaker 2: going to help them get you that tenure track job 113 00:05:41,120 --> 00:05:43,240 Speaker 2: or get tenured, and so they were fired to teach. 114 00:05:43,279 --> 00:05:46,640 Speaker 2: But we actually only hire faculty who want to teach. 115 00:05:46,680 --> 00:05:49,200 Speaker 2: They're not doing research, you know, they're not trying to 116 00:05:49,200 --> 00:05:52,360 Speaker 2: get tenure. They're just here because they love teaching. And 117 00:05:52,440 --> 00:05:54,000 Speaker 2: so I think those are the probably two things that 118 00:05:54,120 --> 00:05:58,200 Speaker 2: our faculty do that distinguish them from I think faculty 119 00:05:58,320 --> 00:05:59,680 Speaker 2: even other top universities. 120 00:06:00,839 --> 00:06:02,920 Speaker 1: You know, I think about you know when I see 121 00:06:03,080 --> 00:06:06,960 Speaker 1: you know, smart, intelligent, passionate people like you, and I 122 00:06:06,960 --> 00:06:08,920 Speaker 1: guess my question is, like you could have done a 123 00:06:08,960 --> 00:06:13,080 Speaker 1: lot of things with your skill and ambition. Why did 124 00:06:13,120 --> 00:06:14,720 Speaker 1: you choose education to work on? 125 00:06:16,680 --> 00:06:22,760 Speaker 2: Uh naivete accidentally and Bratton Washington, So I think, uh, 126 00:06:23,560 --> 00:06:25,440 Speaker 2: you know, when you're a kid, you don't realize these things, 127 00:06:25,480 --> 00:06:30,719 Speaker 2: but now looking back, it's kind of obvious. You know, 128 00:06:30,800 --> 00:06:35,200 Speaker 2: my my paternal grandfather was a college dean. My maternal 129 00:06:35,240 --> 00:06:39,160 Speaker 2: grandfather was a high school principal. My mother got a 130 00:06:39,200 --> 00:06:44,440 Speaker 2: PhD in education, homeschooled my siblings and me and uh 131 00:06:44,520 --> 00:06:47,000 Speaker 2: and then and then it became a college dean, and 132 00:06:47,680 --> 00:06:51,239 Speaker 2: my older sister, you know, as a professor. My father 133 00:06:51,320 --> 00:06:53,920 Speaker 2: started a nursing school. And when we were when I 134 00:06:53,960 --> 00:06:56,240 Speaker 2: was twelve and sort of, you know, my brother and 135 00:06:56,279 --> 00:06:58,440 Speaker 2: I used to go around and pass up flyers to 136 00:06:58,480 --> 00:07:00,280 Speaker 2: all the churches Sunday morning and get able to go 137 00:07:00,320 --> 00:07:02,280 Speaker 2: to the nursing school. So, you know, I think sort 138 00:07:02,320 --> 00:07:04,640 Speaker 2: of in hindsight, you know, everything was like kind of 139 00:07:05,320 --> 00:07:07,880 Speaker 2: forcing me to think about education my entire life. And 140 00:07:08,080 --> 00:07:10,400 Speaker 2: my mother in particular used my brother and I as 141 00:07:10,760 --> 00:07:12,680 Speaker 2: and my older sister. But my brother and I are 142 00:07:12,680 --> 00:07:14,720 Speaker 2: identical twins, So I think it was an interesting sort 143 00:07:14,720 --> 00:07:19,440 Speaker 2: of a b test as sort of guinea pig. It's 144 00:07:19,560 --> 00:07:23,080 Speaker 2: for different pedagogical learning, modality, is different learning techniques, space 145 00:07:23,160 --> 00:07:26,080 Speaker 2: reputation of things like this, and so I guess I've 146 00:07:26,120 --> 00:07:28,120 Speaker 2: always sort of been brainwashed at a deep level to 147 00:07:28,160 --> 00:07:30,520 Speaker 2: think about how then education work, how can it be better, 148 00:07:31,120 --> 00:07:32,520 Speaker 2: how can we make it work for more people? And 149 00:07:32,560 --> 00:07:34,400 Speaker 2: so I think that's probably deep in my core, and 150 00:07:34,440 --> 00:07:38,080 Speaker 2: I think the accidental bit is just you know, I really, 151 00:07:39,440 --> 00:07:42,280 Speaker 2: you know, I didn't plan to be an education entrepreneur 152 00:07:42,400 --> 00:07:45,120 Speaker 2: to work in this space. I actually went to university 153 00:07:45,160 --> 00:07:48,280 Speaker 2: to study aerospace engineering. I started flying planes. I was 154 00:07:48,360 --> 00:07:50,160 Speaker 2: going to be a pilot when I was twelve, So 155 00:07:50,200 --> 00:07:52,280 Speaker 2: that was my plan. And you know, and then, you know, 156 00:07:53,480 --> 00:07:56,400 Speaker 2: I think, what's what's the quote, everyone's got a plan 157 00:07:56,400 --> 00:08:00,160 Speaker 2: into their punch in the face or something like that's 158 00:08:00,160 --> 00:08:00,720 Speaker 2: how these things go. 159 00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:06,240 Speaker 1: Yeah, you talked about your previous and just now you 160 00:08:06,280 --> 00:08:08,480 Speaker 1: talked about your previous track, like where you thought you 161 00:08:08,560 --> 00:08:13,000 Speaker 1: were going to be, you know, lending your talents, but 162 00:08:13,040 --> 00:08:16,160 Speaker 1: you're now leading a company, no organization, you know, an effort. 163 00:08:17,320 --> 00:08:20,040 Speaker 1: How did you learn to lead and particularly lead people 164 00:08:20,080 --> 00:08:23,240 Speaker 1: and lead teams? Like how did you learn to not 165 00:08:23,360 --> 00:08:27,480 Speaker 1: you know, theoretically, but to actually bring to people together 166 00:08:27,840 --> 00:08:30,559 Speaker 1: for a common purpose with their agent. 167 00:08:30,800 --> 00:08:34,360 Speaker 2: Yeah, that's a great question. I'm not sure that i've 168 00:08:35,280 --> 00:08:38,559 Speaker 2: I don't I don't think I've mastered leadership. Quite frankly, 169 00:08:39,800 --> 00:08:43,040 Speaker 2: I'm not passionate about, you know, just leading in an 170 00:08:43,040 --> 00:08:46,440 Speaker 2: abstract sense. I'm passionate about solving this problem for our country. 171 00:08:46,480 --> 00:08:48,600 Speaker 2: I think, you know, a lot of people think about 172 00:08:48,679 --> 00:08:51,720 Speaker 2: education and like an oh education kind of way. I 173 00:08:51,760 --> 00:08:54,360 Speaker 2: sort of think about it, if you know what I mean. 174 00:08:54,400 --> 00:08:57,440 Speaker 2: I think about it almost as like an existential problem 175 00:08:57,440 --> 00:09:01,959 Speaker 2: for the country to solve. You know. I think America 176 00:09:02,160 --> 00:09:05,920 Speaker 2: is like we've sold our country rightfully as the land 177 00:09:05,960 --> 00:09:09,280 Speaker 2: of opportunity, and it's it's supposed to be a place 178 00:09:09,320 --> 00:09:11,360 Speaker 2: where it doesn't matter how you were born or the 179 00:09:11,360 --> 00:09:15,400 Speaker 2: conditions of your birth economically, you know, parentally, if you 180 00:09:15,480 --> 00:09:17,480 Speaker 2: work hard, you put in the work, you're going to 181 00:09:17,480 --> 00:09:19,520 Speaker 2: be able to build a great life here. And I 182 00:09:19,559 --> 00:09:23,199 Speaker 2: think over the last thirty forty years, that's just I 183 00:09:23,240 --> 00:09:25,120 Speaker 2: think a lot of people feel that's just not true anymore. 184 00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:27,840 Speaker 2: And I think a big part of that is the 185 00:09:27,960 --> 00:09:32,960 Speaker 2: student loan crisis. I mean, kids are graduating today, you know, 186 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:36,120 Speaker 2: two hundred k in debt. You're starting life in the 187 00:09:36,160 --> 00:09:38,640 Speaker 2: red negative two hundred k, and then you can just 188 00:09:38,640 --> 00:09:41,439 Speaker 2: from the next decade plus climbing out. You can't buy 189 00:09:41,480 --> 00:09:43,760 Speaker 2: a home. You feel like you can't afford to take 190 00:09:43,760 --> 00:09:45,800 Speaker 2: any risks like start a business. You know, many people, 191 00:09:45,920 --> 00:09:47,679 Speaker 2: like a lot of my age man's are saying they 192 00:09:47,720 --> 00:09:49,320 Speaker 2: don't feel like they can have more than one kid, 193 00:09:49,400 --> 00:09:51,199 Speaker 2: if any kids at all, because it can afford them. 194 00:09:51,320 --> 00:09:53,720 Speaker 2: I think it's an absolute crisis. I think we, you know, 195 00:09:53,760 --> 00:09:55,280 Speaker 2: we have to actually solve this. People have to be 196 00:09:55,320 --> 00:09:57,040 Speaker 2: able to get a home, you know, by twenty seven 197 00:09:57,120 --> 00:09:58,719 Speaker 2: twenty eight. If you're working hard, like you should to 198 00:09:58,720 --> 00:10:00,880 Speaker 2: buy a home, right, you shouldn't have any debt to 199 00:10:00,880 --> 00:10:02,880 Speaker 2: get a great education, to launch your career. So like 200 00:10:03,240 --> 00:10:07,839 Speaker 2: to me, this is what inspires me, and this is 201 00:10:07,880 --> 00:10:10,040 Speaker 2: what I get up every single day trying to solve 202 00:10:10,080 --> 00:10:11,480 Speaker 2: This is what I spent my twenties and I will 203 00:10:11,480 --> 00:10:15,400 Speaker 2: spend all my thirties tackling at least. And so I 204 00:10:15,480 --> 00:10:19,320 Speaker 2: don't think I have formal leadership training in any traditional sense. 205 00:10:19,360 --> 00:10:22,719 Speaker 2: I think people I found that. I think some of 206 00:10:22,800 --> 00:10:26,840 Speaker 2: the smartest, most hard working people are tracktled to passion, 207 00:10:27,240 --> 00:10:29,480 Speaker 2: and I think that's why people join campus. You know, 208 00:10:29,600 --> 00:10:32,079 Speaker 2: about three hundred people today, and I think they're attracted 209 00:10:32,120 --> 00:10:34,000 Speaker 2: with my passion. They know it's genuine, they know that 210 00:10:34,400 --> 00:10:36,880 Speaker 2: I'm obsessed with this issue. I think people people are 211 00:10:36,920 --> 00:10:40,200 Speaker 2: attracted to people who are really, really freaking passionate, and 212 00:10:40,240 --> 00:10:42,480 Speaker 2: they want to work with people who are true believers, 213 00:10:42,520 --> 00:10:44,600 Speaker 2: And so I think that's that's what enables me a big, 214 00:10:44,600 --> 00:10:47,560 Speaker 2: good leader. I don't think that I'm necessarily qualified to like, 215 00:10:48,440 --> 00:10:53,079 Speaker 2: you know, lead you know, a sports team, like I 216 00:10:53,080 --> 00:10:54,800 Speaker 2: don't know that I could be, you know, the coach 217 00:10:54,880 --> 00:10:57,760 Speaker 2: of the you know, Atlanta Falcons, Like I used to 218 00:10:57,800 --> 00:10:59,560 Speaker 2: love football a lot. You know, I still like it, 219 00:10:59,600 --> 00:11:01,439 Speaker 2: you know, but it's not like I'm not going to 220 00:11:01,480 --> 00:11:03,600 Speaker 2: come out there every single day, day in day out 221 00:11:03,880 --> 00:11:06,920 Speaker 2: like coach Saban would or something like that, motivating the guiles, 222 00:11:06,920 --> 00:11:09,840 Speaker 2: because that's not my passion. But I can lead people 223 00:11:09,880 --> 00:11:11,800 Speaker 2: to go and solve this big problem for our country 224 00:11:11,800 --> 00:11:14,760 Speaker 2: and education and access to world class education because people 225 00:11:14,800 --> 00:11:17,000 Speaker 2: can literally see that, you know, I care about this 226 00:11:17,000 --> 00:11:19,559 Speaker 2: more than most people care about anything. So so I 227 00:11:19,600 --> 00:11:21,440 Speaker 2: think that's, yeah, that's how I think about leadership. 228 00:11:22,280 --> 00:11:26,120 Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, in starting a company, an organization and 229 00:11:26,200 --> 00:11:30,520 Speaker 1: institution in this respect, like you know, particularly because you 230 00:11:30,559 --> 00:11:32,520 Speaker 1: weren't setting out on a journey to be a founder 231 00:11:32,640 --> 00:11:35,760 Speaker 1: or an entrepreneur, at what point did you realize or 232 00:11:35,800 --> 00:11:39,160 Speaker 1: at what happened that made you realize like, oh crap, 233 00:11:39,280 --> 00:11:42,640 Speaker 1: Like I'm the CEO, Like I'm the chancellor, like whether 234 00:11:42,720 --> 00:11:45,680 Speaker 1: or not we keep going to stop is on me. Like, 235 00:11:45,760 --> 00:11:48,040 Speaker 1: what happened when that moment hits you? 236 00:11:50,320 --> 00:11:52,200 Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, I think that's a good question. Like 237 00:11:52,679 --> 00:11:54,360 Speaker 2: in the very like in the first four years of 238 00:11:54,400 --> 00:11:56,920 Speaker 2: the company, it was like kind of just me and 239 00:11:56,960 --> 00:12:00,840 Speaker 2: the homies. Yeah, I was just recruiting, you know, friends 240 00:12:00,840 --> 00:12:05,000 Speaker 2: of friends. You know, people are known through the internet 241 00:12:04,280 --> 00:12:08,120 Speaker 2: to work on building software. We started originally just building 242 00:12:08,160 --> 00:12:11,040 Speaker 2: the online learning software. I think the moment where I 243 00:12:11,080 --> 00:12:14,600 Speaker 2: realized no, no, like on top of actually doing things, 244 00:12:14,720 --> 00:12:21,000 Speaker 2: there is like a specific leadership role. I think that 245 00:12:21,040 --> 00:12:25,319 Speaker 2: moment was when we bought we acquired this college in Sacramento. 246 00:12:25,440 --> 00:12:28,600 Speaker 2: It was called MTI College, and you know, it was 247 00:12:28,640 --> 00:12:30,920 Speaker 2: the first time, you know, I'd really sat down with 248 00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:33,920 Speaker 2: folks who dedicated thirty years their life to something that 249 00:12:33,960 --> 00:12:35,680 Speaker 2: are people who'd worked at MTI College for more than 250 00:12:35,720 --> 00:12:38,640 Speaker 2: thirty years, and I had to explain them my vision 251 00:12:39,080 --> 00:12:43,440 Speaker 2: and why I thought, you know, campus and rebranding the 252 00:12:43,440 --> 00:12:46,600 Speaker 2: institution is campus. And you know, we thinking the way 253 00:12:46,760 --> 00:12:49,040 Speaker 2: we were executing on certain strategies, you know, keeping the 254 00:12:49,080 --> 00:12:52,720 Speaker 2: same original mission but executing a completely completely different strategy 255 00:12:53,240 --> 00:12:54,959 Speaker 2: was the right thing for the institution. And that was 256 00:12:54,960 --> 00:12:57,280 Speaker 2: when I was like, Okay, there's a real job here 257 00:12:57,559 --> 00:13:01,960 Speaker 2: to motivate, to inspire my staff and to lead them 258 00:13:02,240 --> 00:13:03,880 Speaker 2: and to sort of be the kind of person that 259 00:13:03,920 --> 00:13:06,720 Speaker 2: they want to follow. Prior to that, it was like, yo, guys, 260 00:13:06,720 --> 00:13:09,040 Speaker 2: we just got to get this shit out, like let's build. No, no, no, 261 00:13:09,320 --> 00:13:12,480 Speaker 2: professors are using the software. The complaining is buggy. You know, 262 00:13:12,559 --> 00:13:14,080 Speaker 2: we can't have it. You know. It was just like 263 00:13:14,200 --> 00:13:18,120 Speaker 2: putting out buyers left and right with the passion. I think, 264 00:13:18,160 --> 00:13:19,880 Speaker 2: you know, after we acquire the college, it was like, 265 00:13:20,400 --> 00:13:24,440 Speaker 2: there's actually like a real responsibility to be a leader, 266 00:13:24,600 --> 00:13:28,120 Speaker 2: not just not just a person who's who's pushing everything 267 00:13:28,120 --> 00:13:28,840 Speaker 2: with pure passion. 268 00:13:30,240 --> 00:13:33,880 Speaker 1: You know what, I'm curious on what excites you most 269 00:13:34,160 --> 00:13:38,080 Speaker 1: about the role AI can play in helping to scale 270 00:13:38,640 --> 00:13:40,400 Speaker 1: access to high quality education. 271 00:13:41,400 --> 00:13:43,559 Speaker 2: Well, you just said at scale to me is as 272 00:13:43,600 --> 00:13:45,520 Speaker 2: really cool. I'll give you an example. So, as I 273 00:13:45,559 --> 00:13:47,280 Speaker 2: said earlier, for every fifty students been a role, we 274 00:13:47,360 --> 00:13:50,880 Speaker 2: hire a success coach. This is somebody who is there 275 00:13:50,920 --> 00:13:53,600 Speaker 2: to motivate the student, who's there to be their point 276 00:13:53,640 --> 00:13:57,240 Speaker 2: of contact if the student has any issue, right with 277 00:13:57,360 --> 00:14:00,280 Speaker 2: the students feeling depressed, or if the students only with 278 00:14:00,280 --> 00:14:02,360 Speaker 2: any life issue. The coach is their first point of 279 00:14:02,360 --> 00:14:05,080 Speaker 2: contact to help them navigate whatever they're going through. And 280 00:14:05,120 --> 00:14:07,160 Speaker 2: so we hire We have the office in Atlanta. We 281 00:14:07,200 --> 00:14:09,439 Speaker 2: have over one hundred people there. Now there are Student 282 00:14:09,480 --> 00:14:12,680 Speaker 2: Impact Club and their job is to just work students 283 00:14:12,760 --> 00:14:16,559 Speaker 2: through all these issues between all these barriers around or 284 00:14:16,600 --> 00:14:21,120 Speaker 2: over these barriers between first day of classes and graduation. 285 00:14:22,120 --> 00:14:26,600 Speaker 2: And so when you have a lot of people, you know, 286 00:14:26,680 --> 00:14:29,400 Speaker 2: interacting with students, you're responsible as an institution for making 287 00:14:29,400 --> 00:14:33,000 Speaker 2: sure those interactions are positive. And now we're not just 288 00:14:33,040 --> 00:14:35,280 Speaker 2: a random bank. We call one eight hundred and then 289 00:14:35,320 --> 00:14:37,000 Speaker 2: we're going to have a brief survey on how you 290 00:14:37,040 --> 00:14:39,240 Speaker 2: to call it No no, Like we want this to be awesome. 291 00:14:39,480 --> 00:14:41,880 Speaker 2: So in sound brief survey, it's like we actually need 292 00:14:41,920 --> 00:14:44,680 Speaker 2: to be responsible for making sure every single person on 293 00:14:44,720 --> 00:14:46,840 Speaker 2: the phone with students, interacturate students, is ready to go. 294 00:14:47,560 --> 00:14:49,800 Speaker 2: And so you know, we have a person who just 295 00:14:49,880 --> 00:14:53,480 Speaker 2: used to listen to ten percent of all interactions with 296 00:14:53,520 --> 00:14:56,080 Speaker 2: students and just grade them and then get feedback or 297 00:14:56,120 --> 00:14:59,120 Speaker 2: god fit, something bad happen, escalate that, but generally it's like, 298 00:14:59,200 --> 00:15:01,400 Speaker 2: you know, giving feedback and helping these student impact people 299 00:15:01,480 --> 00:15:03,680 Speaker 2: be better at their work. Now AI can do it 300 00:15:03,720 --> 00:15:07,400 Speaker 2: in a way that's more privacy preserving and more efficient 301 00:15:07,520 --> 00:15:10,440 Speaker 2: and cheaper and better. So it's just it's like, Okay, 302 00:15:10,440 --> 00:15:12,280 Speaker 2: you can just send a transcript of a call to 303 00:15:12,320 --> 00:15:15,440 Speaker 2: an LM if there was a flagged issue, you know, 304 00:15:15,480 --> 00:15:17,920 Speaker 2: profanity was used or whatever whatever. You know, you have 305 00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:20,280 Speaker 2: a list of things you check for, then a human 306 00:15:20,640 --> 00:15:22,800 Speaker 2: actually looks at it. If not, then no human ever 307 00:15:22,840 --> 00:15:25,520 Speaker 2: sees it. So you're improving privacy and then you can 308 00:15:25,560 --> 00:15:27,360 Speaker 2: scale that up. We're doing it now for all of 309 00:15:27,360 --> 00:15:29,680 Speaker 2: our interactions, whereas we could only do it for five 310 00:15:29,720 --> 00:15:32,480 Speaker 2: to fifteen percent usually around ten percent of interactions before. 311 00:15:32,560 --> 00:15:35,680 Speaker 2: So I think AI can make us way more efficient 312 00:15:36,280 --> 00:15:39,280 Speaker 2: at enhancing the quality of our services number one. Number 313 00:15:39,280 --> 00:15:41,800 Speaker 2: two is AI should be able to do things that 314 00:15:42,240 --> 00:15:45,880 Speaker 2: computers are good at and humans hate doing, and let 315 00:15:45,960 --> 00:15:48,080 Speaker 2: humans do things that humans are great at doing and 316 00:15:48,440 --> 00:15:50,600 Speaker 2: computers can't do. So. For example, again with our faculty, 317 00:15:50,720 --> 00:15:53,120 Speaker 2: I've said it twice already, their job is to inspire. 318 00:15:54,200 --> 00:15:57,720 Speaker 2: Do professors from Princeton love inspiring students about what they're 319 00:15:58,240 --> 00:16:01,840 Speaker 2: passionate about, what they're area of expertises? Yeah? Do they 320 00:16:01,960 --> 00:16:06,440 Speaker 2: like grading homework repetitively. No, they don't. They don't like 321 00:16:06,440 --> 00:16:09,520 Speaker 2: grading homework repetitively. So okay, can can a professor set 322 00:16:09,520 --> 00:16:12,640 Speaker 2: a grading rubric that an AI executes and automates a 323 00:16:12,680 --> 00:16:16,000 Speaker 2: lot of the grading right, yes, for you can do 324 00:16:16,040 --> 00:16:18,720 Speaker 2: that a lot of times. And so there's so many processes. 325 00:16:18,920 --> 00:16:22,640 Speaker 2: For one example that AI will be able to do. 326 00:16:22,720 --> 00:16:24,520 Speaker 2: That will free up our people to spend more time 327 00:16:24,680 --> 00:16:27,640 Speaker 2: with students, like actually interfacing with students and not doing 328 00:16:27,720 --> 00:16:33,640 Speaker 2: back office processes. And then lastly, you know, I think, 329 00:16:33,720 --> 00:16:36,000 Speaker 2: I think. Yeah. The cool thing about campus. One of 330 00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:38,120 Speaker 2: the unique things about campus is it's a live online 331 00:16:38,160 --> 00:16:40,040 Speaker 2: learning experience. So you know, just like you and I 332 00:16:40,040 --> 00:16:42,080 Speaker 2: are meeting face to face, that's how our students meet 333 00:16:42,120 --> 00:16:45,240 Speaker 2: the faculty, you know, you know for twelve hours a week. 334 00:16:45,360 --> 00:16:47,320 Speaker 2: It's it's a lot of it's in tests. It's awesome. 335 00:16:47,640 --> 00:16:50,760 Speaker 2: Now that the annoying thing those that after class ends 336 00:16:51,400 --> 00:16:55,880 Speaker 2: right now, there's no yeah. Yeah, if you if you 337 00:16:55,920 --> 00:16:58,200 Speaker 2: get stuck on a problem you know you're working on 338 00:16:58,360 --> 00:17:01,120 Speaker 2: in your homework or you're setting for examine confused, you know, 339 00:17:01,160 --> 00:17:02,640 Speaker 2: maybe you have to wait for the next office hours 340 00:17:02,680 --> 00:17:05,439 Speaker 2: to show up or schedule tutoring session. That that could be 341 00:17:05,440 --> 00:17:08,040 Speaker 2: two days out with AI. I think we're going to 342 00:17:08,040 --> 00:17:10,280 Speaker 2: be able to in the next six to twelve months 343 00:17:10,440 --> 00:17:14,360 Speaker 2: have every single student have on demand world class tutoring, 344 00:17:15,080 --> 00:17:18,800 Speaker 2: on demand world class study body, you know, on demand 345 00:17:18,880 --> 00:17:20,960 Speaker 2: homework help. And I think that's going to be a 346 00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:23,560 Speaker 2: game changer for both our students and I think broadly 347 00:17:23,640 --> 00:17:25,040 Speaker 2: for higher education in general. 348 00:17:26,240 --> 00:17:29,560 Speaker 1: You know, about ten years ago or so, there was 349 00:17:29,600 --> 00:17:33,080 Speaker 1: this big UnCollege movement where people started to challenge the 350 00:17:33,200 --> 00:17:36,920 Speaker 1: value of a college education. Yeah, and this was around 351 00:17:36,920 --> 00:17:38,880 Speaker 1: the time where I don't remember if we were coming 352 00:17:38,880 --> 00:17:41,320 Speaker 1: out or if we were going into like the mooks 353 00:17:41,359 --> 00:17:44,880 Speaker 1: like the massive open online college you know season that 354 00:17:44,920 --> 00:17:49,639 Speaker 1: we were in. And you know, people have my points, 355 00:17:49,640 --> 00:17:52,560 Speaker 1: like people have taken these sorts of challenges on before, 356 00:17:52,720 --> 00:17:57,439 Speaker 1: and either there's regulatory or bureaucratic or just pure like 357 00:17:57,720 --> 00:18:01,080 Speaker 1: success rate, Like there's there's reasons it hasn't worked in 358 00:18:01,119 --> 00:18:05,919 Speaker 1: trying to reimagine college and university experiences Like what do 359 00:18:06,000 --> 00:18:09,000 Speaker 1: you what do you have you faced as like the 360 00:18:09,040 --> 00:18:13,719 Speaker 1: biggest regulatory or bureaucratic reasons that you know cause challenges 361 00:18:14,080 --> 00:18:16,000 Speaker 1: to you know, O'Regan stations. 362 00:18:15,640 --> 00:18:19,200 Speaker 2: Like yours cost I'm gonna say, it's refreshing to talk 363 00:18:19,240 --> 00:18:22,919 Speaker 2: to a storyteller journalist who's gone that deep on the space. 364 00:18:23,040 --> 00:18:25,399 Speaker 2: It's really cool. Yeah, we're not the first, second, or 365 00:18:25,400 --> 00:18:29,320 Speaker 2: third to try and tackle, you know, the problem with 366 00:18:29,440 --> 00:18:32,200 Speaker 2: access to world class education in the country. I think 367 00:18:32,600 --> 00:18:34,919 Speaker 2: a lot of the prior efforts, and I studied all 368 00:18:34,960 --> 00:18:36,840 Speaker 2: of them before we got started with the campus, as 369 00:18:36,880 --> 00:18:41,960 Speaker 2: any wise person will do, in stalled largely in part 370 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:45,359 Speaker 2: because they didn't have a thoughtful solution to the money problem. 371 00:18:46,359 --> 00:18:49,639 Speaker 2: And what that means is specifically outside of basically India 372 00:18:49,640 --> 00:18:53,800 Speaker 2: and China, the way that the higher education is largely 373 00:18:53,840 --> 00:18:58,480 Speaker 2: paid for is through state subsidies. The government subsizes or 374 00:18:58,520 --> 00:19:02,639 Speaker 2: outright pays for the vast majority of undergraduate education. But 375 00:19:02,800 --> 00:19:06,200 Speaker 2: the US and Europe that that's just that's the core model. 376 00:19:06,520 --> 00:19:08,840 Speaker 2: So if you don't have a way for students to 377 00:19:08,880 --> 00:19:12,280 Speaker 2: be able to take your programs through these you know, 378 00:19:12,400 --> 00:19:16,399 Speaker 2: state subsidies that they're entitled to by being Americans, Like 379 00:19:16,440 --> 00:19:18,280 Speaker 2: in our case, it's the Pelgrant. It's you know, it's 380 00:19:18,280 --> 00:19:21,560 Speaker 2: eleven thousand dollars a year for six years. It's a beautiful, 381 00:19:21,800 --> 00:19:26,320 Speaker 2: amazing asset that changes millions of lives every year. And 382 00:19:26,440 --> 00:19:29,600 Speaker 2: if you don't know how to access that, then your 383 00:19:29,400 --> 00:19:32,119 Speaker 2: you're on college or disruptive mook, whatever it is. Is 384 00:19:32,119 --> 00:19:33,679 Speaker 2: it not going to work. It's not going to be 385 00:19:33,760 --> 00:19:36,159 Speaker 2: successful because that's how most students could college. And so 386 00:19:36,400 --> 00:19:38,800 Speaker 2: we were very thoughtful about that from day one, you know, 387 00:19:38,840 --> 00:19:43,200 Speaker 2: I you know, our motto is fuc K student debt. 388 00:19:43,560 --> 00:19:45,880 Speaker 2: Like we did not want to add one I don't 389 00:19:45,880 --> 00:19:47,960 Speaker 2: know if I can curse here. We did not want to. 390 00:19:49,280 --> 00:19:51,879 Speaker 2: We did not want to add one dollar to the 391 00:19:51,920 --> 00:19:54,159 Speaker 2: pile of student loan debt in this country. And we haven't. 392 00:19:54,400 --> 00:19:56,960 Speaker 2: Of our about twenty six hundred students today, not a 393 00:19:57,000 --> 00:19:59,399 Speaker 2: single one of them. Right now, our online students has 394 00:19:59,440 --> 00:20:02,160 Speaker 2: taken one do a student loan debt. And that's that's 395 00:20:02,160 --> 00:20:04,480 Speaker 2: super key for me, you know. So it's all Pelgramt 396 00:20:04,480 --> 00:20:06,840 Speaker 2: funded or the students you know, pay out of pocket 397 00:20:06,880 --> 00:20:08,679 Speaker 2: if they're affluent and they can afford to do so. 398 00:20:08,760 --> 00:20:11,639 Speaker 2: And so basically that's the core. I think that you 399 00:20:11,680 --> 00:20:14,040 Speaker 2: know a lot of the people can before failed at 400 00:20:14,119 --> 00:20:17,040 Speaker 2: the second piece, that's about a little bit less core. 401 00:20:17,240 --> 00:20:18,760 Speaker 2: I think that a lot of folks failed at is 402 00:20:20,760 --> 00:20:23,920 Speaker 2: people want college degrees, like they just I think it's 403 00:20:23,920 --> 00:20:27,400 Speaker 2: like it's all these like these like Ivy League graduates 404 00:20:27,480 --> 00:20:31,439 Speaker 2: in Silicon Valley who don't know, regular people in Atlanta, 405 00:20:31,800 --> 00:20:36,200 Speaker 2: in Pittsburgh, you know, in Detroit, you know, in rural America, 406 00:20:36,359 --> 00:20:39,119 Speaker 2: like just regular people, and they're like, nobody wants college. 407 00:20:39,119 --> 00:20:40,920 Speaker 2: And it's like, pro are you kidding me? Like there's 408 00:20:40,920 --> 00:20:43,240 Speaker 2: millions of kids every year who would be the first 409 00:20:43,240 --> 00:20:45,000 Speaker 2: in their family to go to college, and they, you know, 410 00:20:45,040 --> 00:20:46,879 Speaker 2: they just want the pride of being able to say 411 00:20:47,000 --> 00:20:48,520 Speaker 2: I'm a college kid. First of all, I'm not even 412 00:20:48,560 --> 00:20:50,920 Speaker 2: a graduate. I'm just a college kid. You know, there's 413 00:20:50,920 --> 00:20:53,560 Speaker 2: a millions of kids in middle income high schools and 414 00:20:53,560 --> 00:20:56,200 Speaker 2: low income high schools all over the country who senior 415 00:20:56,280 --> 00:20:58,520 Speaker 2: year want to wear that hoodie of a college they 416 00:20:58,520 --> 00:21:00,119 Speaker 2: got admitted to, even if they're not even going. They 417 00:21:00,119 --> 00:21:03,520 Speaker 2: just want to wear. And these these Silicon Valley elites, 418 00:21:03,680 --> 00:21:06,320 Speaker 2: you know, they didn't necessarily understand that. You know, in 419 00:21:06,359 --> 00:21:08,760 Speaker 2: Silicon Valley, we have this myth of the you know, 420 00:21:08,800 --> 00:21:11,120 Speaker 2: the college dropout, of which I am one. I did 421 00:21:11,119 --> 00:21:13,159 Speaker 2: three years in aerospace and dropped out. But like so 422 00:21:13,200 --> 00:21:15,119 Speaker 2: I understand that, but like they have this myth of 423 00:21:15,160 --> 00:21:17,600 Speaker 2: the college drop but it's like Silicon Valley only invests 424 00:21:17,640 --> 00:21:21,040 Speaker 2: in college dropouts to drop out of elite schools, like 425 00:21:21,240 --> 00:21:24,000 Speaker 2: nobody's investing in the community college dropouts in Silicon Valley, 426 00:21:24,040 --> 00:21:27,680 Speaker 2: like you know, and so so. So college actually is 427 00:21:27,760 --> 00:21:32,160 Speaker 2: a really valuable thing, both in terms of the confidence 428 00:21:32,280 --> 00:21:35,560 Speaker 2: that it bestows upon the people who who complete it, 429 00:21:35,680 --> 00:21:38,200 Speaker 2: and and then of course the economic payoff. You know, 430 00:21:38,200 --> 00:21:39,680 Speaker 2: if you get a bachelor's degree, you're can to earn 431 00:21:39,760 --> 00:21:42,399 Speaker 2: a million dollars more over the coursier life than someone 432 00:21:42,560 --> 00:21:44,159 Speaker 2: who's just a high school diploma. If you get an 433 00:21:44,160 --> 00:21:46,280 Speaker 2: associate's degree, you're in a half a million more of 434 00:21:46,280 --> 00:21:49,240 Speaker 2: the coasher life. So Americans know this. Most people recognize this, 435 00:21:49,720 --> 00:21:51,760 Speaker 2: and and so they actually wanted agree. So what they 436 00:21:51,800 --> 00:21:54,639 Speaker 2: don't want is to debt. What they don't want is 437 00:21:54,680 --> 00:21:59,360 Speaker 2: the stupid, you know, nonsense theoretical education as opposed to practical, 438 00:21:59,560 --> 00:22:03,600 Speaker 2: real world skills. What they don't want is a system 439 00:22:03,640 --> 00:22:05,800 Speaker 2: that treats them like crap and says, oh, you're one 440 00:22:05,880 --> 00:22:09,200 Speaker 2: day late, drugster, Sorry, wait till next fall to start. 441 00:22:09,240 --> 00:22:13,159 Speaker 2: Like it's all these like really city, really silly, you know, 442 00:22:13,280 --> 00:22:16,320 Speaker 2: sort of idiosyncrasies in our higher education system that no 443 00:22:16,480 --> 00:22:20,480 Speaker 2: other service of this level of importance has. You know, 444 00:22:20,520 --> 00:22:23,240 Speaker 2: like you're telling me I can't take the class that 445 00:22:23,280 --> 00:22:24,760 Speaker 2: I need a graduate because it's full, so you can 446 00:22:24,760 --> 00:22:27,240 Speaker 2: make me take an extra semester just waiting around on 447 00:22:27,240 --> 00:22:29,560 Speaker 2: camp like the ridiculous stuff that students have to deal with, 448 00:22:29,880 --> 00:22:32,159 Speaker 2: and I think that's what folks actually don't want. And 449 00:22:32,160 --> 00:22:33,600 Speaker 2: so for us, it was like, how can we solve 450 00:22:33,600 --> 00:22:36,520 Speaker 2: the debt problem right so that students don't have to 451 00:22:36,520 --> 00:22:38,359 Speaker 2: take on loans? And that was by figuring out a 452 00:22:38,359 --> 00:22:41,320 Speaker 2: business model that worked where the tuition is priced below 453 00:22:41,359 --> 00:22:44,239 Speaker 2: the pelgrant Number one, number two, how do we make 454 00:22:44,280 --> 00:22:47,640 Speaker 2: sure the quality is excellent. You're not learning nonsense that 455 00:22:47,760 --> 00:22:49,359 Speaker 2: you know that's not actually going to prepare you to 456 00:22:49,359 --> 00:22:52,320 Speaker 2: be successful. You're learning crucial things. For example, if you're 457 00:22:52,320 --> 00:22:56,760 Speaker 2: taking our business classes, you're learning how to negotiate. I've 458 00:22:56,840 --> 00:22:58,359 Speaker 2: hired a lot of smart people out of the elite 459 00:22:58,359 --> 00:23:01,119 Speaker 2: schools in this country. If we're business majors, many of 460 00:23:01,160 --> 00:23:04,159 Speaker 2: them don't not negotiate. There's like a contractor here to 461 00:23:04,200 --> 00:23:06,879 Speaker 2: fix the window, and the contractor's shoying to negotiate and 462 00:23:06,880 --> 00:23:08,639 Speaker 2: they're being all friendly with them. I'm like this is 463 00:23:08,640 --> 00:23:10,840 Speaker 2: the contractor. He's going to take you for a ride. 464 00:23:10,880 --> 00:23:12,880 Speaker 2: You better take that small after face and africate about 465 00:23:12,880 --> 00:23:14,560 Speaker 2: to walk off the room. Like these are things that 466 00:23:14,640 --> 00:23:18,199 Speaker 2: the kid in the South side Chicago knows by age eleven. 467 00:23:18,640 --> 00:23:20,320 Speaker 2: You know. They know how to posture, they know how 468 00:23:20,320 --> 00:23:23,280 Speaker 2: to communicate with the body language and the tone, the 469 00:23:23,359 --> 00:23:25,000 Speaker 2: right things they need to communicate to get what they 470 00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:27,800 Speaker 2: need to get done done right that kids coming from 471 00:23:27,840 --> 00:23:30,080 Speaker 2: the elite business schools in this country may not even know. 472 00:23:30,160 --> 00:23:33,159 Speaker 2: And so campus graduates are equipped. If you're getting one 473 00:23:33,160 --> 00:23:35,879 Speaker 2: of my business graduates, good luck. If you're sitting acrossing 474 00:23:35,880 --> 00:23:37,760 Speaker 2: them on a negotiation table, they know how to read 475 00:23:37,800 --> 00:23:40,520 Speaker 2: your face, your body language, They're going to make you sweat, right, 476 00:23:40,560 --> 00:23:43,359 Speaker 2: And that's what you know. That's what high quality education 477 00:23:43,440 --> 00:23:46,120 Speaker 2: is about. That Sudent's actually looking for, not just theoretical nonsense, 478 00:23:46,400 --> 00:23:49,760 Speaker 2: practical skills. And then lastly, we treat students like customers. 479 00:23:50,160 --> 00:23:52,880 Speaker 2: They are paying customers. It's not sink or swim. It's 480 00:23:52,880 --> 00:23:54,800 Speaker 2: all up to you. No, no, no, How can we 481 00:23:55,200 --> 00:23:57,840 Speaker 2: help you be successful in life? How can we create 482 00:23:58,200 --> 00:24:00,360 Speaker 2: help you create the life that you want for yourself. 483 00:24:00,440 --> 00:24:03,520 Speaker 2: That's our entire approach to students. So if you need 484 00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:05,560 Speaker 2: a class to graduate, I don't care if you're the 485 00:24:05,600 --> 00:24:07,639 Speaker 2: only kid who needs it. We're hiring a professor to 486 00:24:07,640 --> 00:24:11,920 Speaker 2: teach that class. Right. If you need a laptop, great, 487 00:24:12,359 --> 00:24:15,160 Speaker 2: we give free laptops to seventy eight percent of our students. Cool, 488 00:24:15,840 --> 00:24:17,680 Speaker 2: we got it. If you need Wi Fi at home, 489 00:24:17,800 --> 00:24:20,960 Speaker 2: we give free Wi Fi to almost seventy percent of 490 00:24:20,960 --> 00:24:24,119 Speaker 2: our students, free WiFi the WiFi. Don't go t MOBILTI 491 00:24:24,119 --> 00:24:26,560 Speaker 2: friz them. Let's go, like, what do you need to 492 00:24:26,600 --> 00:24:29,520 Speaker 2: be successful? As our customer is our general approach. And 493 00:24:29,560 --> 00:24:31,600 Speaker 2: that's so I think when you solve those three things, 494 00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:33,639 Speaker 2: you know, when you solve the debt problem, when you 495 00:24:33,640 --> 00:24:36,639 Speaker 2: solve the quality problem, and he solved the like you know, 496 00:24:36,680 --> 00:24:40,920 Speaker 2: sort of customer centricness problem or central to the problem, 497 00:24:41,119 --> 00:24:43,720 Speaker 2: then I think actually everyone wants college. Who does want 498 00:24:43,720 --> 00:24:45,920 Speaker 2: to be a college kid? Who want to graduate? Let's 499 00:24:45,960 --> 00:24:46,920 Speaker 2: go yeah. 500 00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:48,919 Speaker 1: Yeah, And part of the thing that would love for 501 00:24:48,960 --> 00:24:52,040 Speaker 1: you to touch on is, yeah, we don't want the debt. 502 00:24:52,160 --> 00:24:55,360 Speaker 1: We do want the degree, we do want the education, 503 00:24:55,920 --> 00:24:59,040 Speaker 1: but we also want like the university experience. And I wonder, 504 00:24:59,119 --> 00:25:01,880 Speaker 1: like you send your name campus like that being on 505 00:25:02,040 --> 00:25:06,159 Speaker 1: campus and being you know, fully remote like online, Like, 506 00:25:06,200 --> 00:25:08,719 Speaker 1: how do you bridge that gap? Because not only do 507 00:25:08,760 --> 00:25:11,080 Speaker 1: people go as you know, well know, not only do 508 00:25:11,200 --> 00:25:14,639 Speaker 1: I go to school to get educated, to get prepared 509 00:25:14,680 --> 00:25:18,840 Speaker 1: for the real world and et cetera in my work life, 510 00:25:19,040 --> 00:25:21,560 Speaker 1: but I also it's my first time out of my parents' house. 511 00:25:22,200 --> 00:25:25,359 Speaker 1: I'm starting to figure out who I am in the world. 512 00:25:25,359 --> 00:25:27,920 Speaker 1: I'm meeting people from around the world who I never 513 00:25:27,920 --> 00:25:31,440 Speaker 1: would have met otherwise, you know, talk to me about that. 514 00:25:31,760 --> 00:25:36,440 Speaker 2: Yeah, So campus is ultimately a trampline into the top. 515 00:25:36,680 --> 00:25:39,400 Speaker 2: You know, school students want to go to Morehouse UCLA 516 00:25:39,560 --> 00:25:43,159 Speaker 2: n y U, and so you can't make you know, 517 00:25:43,600 --> 00:25:46,280 Speaker 2: a more House man online. I just can't do it. 518 00:25:46,400 --> 00:25:49,359 Speaker 2: You know. My board chair is a former president of 519 00:25:49,359 --> 00:25:52,280 Speaker 2: Morehouse University, doctor John Wilson. Like, we talked about this 520 00:25:52,359 --> 00:25:54,840 Speaker 2: all the time. It's like the principles that we instill 521 00:25:54,880 --> 00:25:57,160 Speaker 2: in these young men, they do have to be there 522 00:25:57,440 --> 00:26:02,200 Speaker 2: on campus navigating all types of situations that are going 523 00:26:02,280 --> 00:26:05,240 Speaker 2: to help refine them in terms of building out their integrity, 524 00:26:05,760 --> 00:26:08,520 Speaker 2: refine them in terms of building out their sense of service. 525 00:26:08,960 --> 00:26:11,360 Speaker 2: You know, all these different things that you know, how 526 00:26:11,359 --> 00:26:13,399 Speaker 2: do you how do you instill these principles and there 527 00:26:13,400 --> 00:26:15,399 Speaker 2: does have to be an in person component. So campus 528 00:26:15,680 --> 00:26:18,080 Speaker 2: is just the first two years of college. Our vision 529 00:26:18,160 --> 00:26:20,000 Speaker 2: is and our students are coming to us because they 530 00:26:20,040 --> 00:26:22,920 Speaker 2: want to start a campus, take no debt in the 531 00:26:22,960 --> 00:26:25,720 Speaker 2: first two years, and then transfer. That's the cool thing 532 00:26:25,800 --> 00:26:29,600 Speaker 2: about campus versus all these other UnCollege mook type silly 533 00:26:29,600 --> 00:26:32,280 Speaker 2: ideas in the past. But they were not accredited colleges, 534 00:26:32,320 --> 00:26:34,760 Speaker 2: so you couldn't transfer. Great, you do two years on 535 00:26:34,800 --> 00:26:38,480 Speaker 2: course era start over you did? You know? You did 536 00:26:38,480 --> 00:26:39,040 Speaker 2: two years? 537 00:26:39,119 --> 00:26:39,239 Speaker 1: Uh? 538 00:26:39,560 --> 00:26:43,240 Speaker 2: You know on college? Okay, you're a freshman. No, no, no campus, 539 00:26:43,240 --> 00:26:45,000 Speaker 2: you do two years, you get your sociates degree, and 540 00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:47,960 Speaker 2: then we help you transfer into morehouse. Transfer transfer to 541 00:26:48,040 --> 00:26:50,760 Speaker 2: students into NYU. Have been admitted to n YU already, 542 00:26:50,920 --> 00:26:53,199 Speaker 2: transfer into UCLA and you're still going to get that 543 00:26:53,200 --> 00:26:57,000 Speaker 2: residential experience. So again to recap, you know, I think 544 00:26:57,040 --> 00:27:00,960 Speaker 2: live online is extremely crucial. It's helpful from an academic standpoint, 545 00:27:00,960 --> 00:27:03,880 Speaker 2: and that it enables the students actually do it from anywhere. 546 00:27:04,160 --> 00:27:06,879 Speaker 2: So you know, stay tuned. You will see that the 547 00:27:06,920 --> 00:27:10,159 Speaker 2: campus experience of being live online, we will actually take 548 00:27:10,200 --> 00:27:12,919 Speaker 2: advantage of the fact that it's live online and enhance 549 00:27:13,280 --> 00:27:15,320 Speaker 2: students experience for those first two years, you know, through 550 00:27:15,359 --> 00:27:18,720 Speaker 2: international through things that are possible in cities where we 551 00:27:18,720 --> 00:27:20,920 Speaker 2: have high concentrations of students like New York and Atlanta. 552 00:27:21,760 --> 00:27:25,960 Speaker 2: Number two, I think I think you know that transfer 553 00:27:26,320 --> 00:27:30,639 Speaker 2: is crucial. Is transfer super crucial? Start a campus and 554 00:27:30,680 --> 00:27:32,840 Speaker 2: then go to Morehouse, go to UCLA, go to n YU, 555 00:27:33,040 --> 00:27:36,600 Speaker 2: and then lastly, I'll say one more benefit that is 556 00:27:36,640 --> 00:27:40,679 Speaker 2: crucial to the learning experience being synchronous online is that 557 00:27:40,720 --> 00:27:43,679 Speaker 2: the best professors may not live in a neighborhood. So 558 00:27:43,880 --> 00:27:48,000 Speaker 2: what if what if you live in you know, Valdosta, Georgia, 559 00:27:48,920 --> 00:27:53,000 Speaker 2: there may not be the best professors in physics or 560 00:27:53,119 --> 00:27:57,720 Speaker 2: AI or whatever the specific thing you're passionate about learning is. 561 00:27:57,840 --> 00:28:00,400 Speaker 2: And so you shouldn't have to just learn the best 562 00:28:00,440 --> 00:28:03,560 Speaker 2: dude in Valdosta who may not be very good. You 563 00:28:03,600 --> 00:28:05,399 Speaker 2: should be able to learn from the best person period, 564 00:28:06,000 --> 00:28:09,360 Speaker 2: who could be in you know, Toledo or somewhere else 565 00:28:09,440 --> 00:28:13,000 Speaker 2: random across the country. So the campus doing the learning 566 00:28:13,040 --> 00:28:16,560 Speaker 2: online and enhances I think the average quality of the 567 00:28:16,560 --> 00:28:20,840 Speaker 2: instructors because you're not hied to anyone geography. But if 568 00:28:20,880 --> 00:28:23,320 Speaker 2: we can still get people together in a social setting 569 00:28:23,440 --> 00:28:25,639 Speaker 2: in real life, then I think you'll actually bridge the 570 00:28:25,640 --> 00:28:27,160 Speaker 2: gap on those things. 571 00:28:27,520 --> 00:28:31,439 Speaker 1: That finally, you know, I'm interested in your thoughts on 572 00:28:32,600 --> 00:28:34,320 Speaker 1: you know, when you build something like this, you're not 573 00:28:34,400 --> 00:28:39,440 Speaker 1: necessarily or at least necessarily talking about building wealth for 574 00:28:39,600 --> 00:28:42,120 Speaker 1: yourself as a founder. Can you can work in other 575 00:28:42,200 --> 00:28:44,320 Speaker 1: sectors and talk about, you know, we're going to make 576 00:28:44,320 --> 00:28:46,440 Speaker 1: a bunch of money, we're going to exit at these numbers, 577 00:28:46,520 --> 00:28:48,440 Speaker 1: we're going to raise as much to go do that much, 578 00:28:48,520 --> 00:28:53,360 Speaker 1: and you know, talk about generational wealth. And my question 579 00:28:53,440 --> 00:28:56,280 Speaker 1: to you is, how do you think as a founder 580 00:28:56,480 --> 00:28:59,880 Speaker 1: about your opportunity to build wealth? Whow so do goodwile 581 00:29:00,040 --> 00:29:03,280 Speaker 1: doing good? And do you see that this could be 582 00:29:03,320 --> 00:29:06,200 Speaker 1: a billion dollar opportunity for you or like how how 583 00:29:06,240 --> 00:29:09,240 Speaker 1: do you think about it from a wealth generation for 584 00:29:09,600 --> 00:29:12,400 Speaker 1: a founder, not for the students, but for you. 585 00:29:13,840 --> 00:29:16,000 Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, look, it's I think the opportunity we're 586 00:29:16,040 --> 00:29:21,240 Speaker 2: going after is so absurdly large that if we're successful, 587 00:29:21,280 --> 00:29:24,320 Speaker 2: there's no way that you're not going to just build 588 00:29:24,440 --> 00:29:26,760 Speaker 2: a great you know, a great a great company. And 589 00:29:26,800 --> 00:29:28,200 Speaker 2: you know, if you own a meaningful piece of a 590 00:29:28,240 --> 00:29:32,240 Speaker 2: great company, then obviously wealth comes with that. So to me, 591 00:29:32,360 --> 00:29:34,800 Speaker 2: I think The mistake founders make when they're working in healthcare, 592 00:29:34,840 --> 00:29:38,680 Speaker 2: when they're working in education, you know, these industries where 593 00:29:39,040 --> 00:29:41,840 Speaker 2: the customers and the impact you're having on society has 594 00:29:41,880 --> 00:29:45,080 Speaker 2: to be the focus, is that they start thinking about 595 00:29:45,280 --> 00:29:48,840 Speaker 2: the wealth in like a sort of tangible, specific way. 596 00:29:49,120 --> 00:29:50,360 Speaker 2: I don't think you could think about it that way. 597 00:29:50,360 --> 00:29:53,040 Speaker 2: I think there's folks on solving this huge problem for society, 598 00:29:53,280 --> 00:29:55,440 Speaker 2: and if you do solve it, the wealth will take 599 00:29:55,480 --> 00:29:57,960 Speaker 2: care of itself. And so for me, that's the focus. Obviously. 600 00:29:57,960 --> 00:30:00,240 Speaker 2: I own, you know, a meaningful chunk of this thing. 601 00:30:00,280 --> 00:30:02,720 Speaker 2: You know, we have investors. You know, almost all of 602 00:30:02,760 --> 00:30:06,240 Speaker 2: our investors are already billionaires. You know Sam Oltman, Jason Citchron, 603 00:30:06,280 --> 00:30:09,520 Speaker 2: the founder of Discord, you know Michael Bloomberg and the 604 00:30:09,520 --> 00:30:13,200 Speaker 2: Bloomberg Ventures team. You know Dylanfield, founder of Figma. These 605 00:30:13,240 --> 00:30:15,400 Speaker 2: guys are not investing in campus to make more money. 606 00:30:15,640 --> 00:30:17,120 Speaker 2: You know, they're already billionaires. What are they gonna do 607 00:30:17,160 --> 00:30:19,000 Speaker 2: with more money? Buy another ping pong table? Like? That's 608 00:30:19,040 --> 00:30:21,120 Speaker 2: not that's not the goal here. The goal here is 609 00:30:21,160 --> 00:30:24,680 Speaker 2: to solve this massive problem for America. And then, of 610 00:30:24,720 --> 00:30:29,080 Speaker 2: course we all understand intuitively that if you do, you know, 611 00:30:29,360 --> 00:30:33,280 Speaker 2: make calling and texting over the internet super accessible WhatsApp, 612 00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:37,000 Speaker 2: or make it possible for people to rent out and 613 00:30:37,160 --> 00:30:41,080 Speaker 2: monetize the spare rooms in their house Airbnb, or connect 614 00:30:41,080 --> 00:30:44,400 Speaker 2: people you know, with various cars and drivers at a 615 00:30:44,480 --> 00:30:46,880 Speaker 2: cheaper than the rate of a taxi at the push 616 00:30:46,880 --> 00:30:50,080 Speaker 2: of the button on your phone. Uber that, of course you're 617 00:30:50,120 --> 00:30:53,120 Speaker 2: going to end up just accidentally, just as a function 618 00:30:53,280 --> 00:30:56,480 Speaker 2: of what the scale of the problem you solved creating 619 00:30:56,600 --> 00:30:58,560 Speaker 2: you know, creating and creating very well. And so three, 620 00:30:58,600 --> 00:31:00,360 Speaker 2: I don't think about it daily or a month or 621 00:31:00,440 --> 00:31:03,880 Speaker 2: quarterly or even probably not even annually. It's not like 622 00:31:03,920 --> 00:31:06,040 Speaker 2: a focus. It's and I think people focus on it 623 00:31:06,040 --> 00:31:08,560 Speaker 2: they got up building something that's terrible, like the like 624 00:31:08,600 --> 00:31:11,280 Speaker 2: the University of Phoenix or on these other crappy on 625 00:31:11,520 --> 00:31:13,520 Speaker 2: college things that have like I don't think you can 626 00:31:13,520 --> 00:31:14,920 Speaker 2: think about it that way. You have to think about what 627 00:31:15,000 --> 00:31:17,200 Speaker 2: is the problem I'm trying to solve? Is this problem 628 00:31:17,280 --> 00:31:20,760 Speaker 2: big enough? And you know, am I ambitionous? Am I 629 00:31:20,800 --> 00:31:23,600 Speaker 2: ambitious enough? I made that decision, you know, nine years 630 00:31:23,600 --> 00:31:25,160 Speaker 2: ago to work on this, which we turned nine in 631 00:31:25,200 --> 00:31:27,600 Speaker 2: this August, and so yeah, that was when I thought 632 00:31:27,600 --> 00:31:29,480 Speaker 2: about that. And now I'm just heads down, trying to 633 00:31:29,480 --> 00:31:30,400 Speaker 2: trying to solve this problem. 634 00:31:30,800 --> 00:31:33,200 Speaker 1: Black Tech Green Money is a production to Blavity Afro 635 00:31:33,320 --> 00:31:35,800 Speaker 1: Tech on the Black Effect Podcast Network and night Hire 636 00:31:35,960 --> 00:31:38,640 Speaker 1: Media and it's produced by Morgan Debonne and me Well 637 00:31:38,720 --> 00:31:41,920 Speaker 1: Lucas with the Ad Digital Production support by Kate McDonald 638 00:31:42,280 --> 00:31:45,120 Speaker 1: Arrogant and Jaden McGee. Special thank you to Michael Davis 639 00:31:45,160 --> 00:31:47,440 Speaker 1: in Love Beach. Learn more about my guess Other Tech. 640 00:31:47,440 --> 00:31:50,680 Speaker 1: This shop is an innovators at afrotech dot Com. Video 641 00:31:50,760 --> 00:31:52,840 Speaker 1: version of this episode will drop to Black Tech Green 642 00:31:52,880 --> 00:31:56,440 Speaker 1: Money on YouTube, So tap it in enjoying Black Tech Green Money. 643 00:31:56,920 --> 00:31:59,880 Speaker 1: Shit to somebody, go get your money. 644 00:32:00,080 --> 00:32:00,720 Speaker 2: Peace and love,