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Jason Applebaum

Background​

  • Former Marketing Director at Alpha Schools
  • Responsible for Alpha's marketing funnel, customer acquisition, branding collateral, and overall marketing strategy
  • Terminated: Confirmed fired from Alpha in early July 2025, alongside Joanna
  • Termination coincided with Joe Liemandt's push for Time Back bounties and his decision to take direct control of Alpha marketing

Professional Experience at Alpha​

  • Marketing Strategy: Oversaw Alpha's social media presence, customer acquisition costs, and branding initiatives
  • Content Direction: Managed shift toward credibility-focused content and white-glove service positioning
  • Team Leadership: Managed marketing team structure and coordinated with other departments
  • Event Management: Involved in event planning and management (noted as challenging area)
  • Vendor Relations: Worked with marketing agencies and external contractors

Key Projects & Initiatives​

  • Alpha Schools Marketing Funnel: Developed and managed customer acquisition processes
  • Credibility Content Strategy: Shifted focus from generic marketing to expertise demonstration
  • DAM Tool Collaboration: Working with Dallas and Gary Sheng on Digital Asset Management tool
  • High-Cost School Marketing: Provided guidance for Tim Joo's $40k-$65k/year IMG Academy-style sports school concept with Pat Azzi

Marketing Insights Shared​

  • Customer Acquisition: Understanding of Alpha's acquisition costs and conversion metrics
  • Attribution Challenges: Acknowledged difficulties in marketing attribution and reporting
  • Credibility Focus: Emphasized importance of demonstrating expertise over generic marketing
  • White-Glove Service: Recommended premium service positioning for high-value education offerings
  • Admissions Funnel: Stressed need for well-defined admissions process for premium schools

Organizational Challenges​

  • Reporting Issues: Faced challenges with marketing attribution and performance reporting
  • Event Management: Events described as "terrible mess" requiring coordination improvements
  • Agency Management: Worked with external marketing agencies of varying quality
  • Cross-Department Coordination: Challenges coordinating between marketing and other departments

Termination Context (July 2025)​

  • Timing: Fired at beginning of July 2025 along with Joanna
  • Joe's Marketing Control: Termination coincided with Joe Liemandt taking direct ownership of Alpha marketing
  • Time Back Bounties: Firing aligned with Joe's push for Time Back marketing bounties
  • Agency Strategy Shift: Joe likely replacing with different marketing agency approach
  • Quality Issues: Termination may reflect Joe's dissatisfaction with marketing performance and agency management

Interactions with Gary/Tim Network​

  • 2025-05-23: Extensive meeting with Tim Joo about Alpha marketing strategy, customer acquisition, and guidance for sports academy concept. Shared insights about Alpha's marketing challenges, team structure, and recommended approaches for new school ventures. Discussed collaboration opportunities with Super Builders (Gauntlet) for marketing improvements.

Professional Approach​

  • Collaborative: Willing to share marketing insights and provide guidance for new ventures
  • Strategic Thinking: Understood importance of credibility and premium positioning
  • Process-Oriented: Emphasized need for systematic approaches to admissions and customer acquisition
  • Vendor Management: Experience working with external agencies and service providers

Strategic Value (Historical)​

  • Marketing Intelligence: Deep understanding of Alpha's marketing challenges and opportunities
  • Industry Knowledge: Insights into education marketing, particularly for premium/high-cost programs
  • Process Knowledge: Understanding of marketing attribution, reporting, and team management
  • Vendor Networks: Connections to marketing agencies and service providers

Transcripts​

Transcript IDDateSummary
2025-05-23-summary-tim-joo-jason-applebaum2025-05-23Marketing strategy discussion with Tim Joo about Alpha's funnel, customer acquisition, and IMG Academy-style sports school concept
2025-05-13-ut-interns-ai-marketing-tools-discussion2025-05-13UT Interns AI Marketing Tools Discussion
2025-04-10-jason-applebaum-doug-green-meeting2025-04-10Discussion on Alpha recruitment strategies, media initiatives, and Joe's ambitious vision for scaling

Notes​

  • Represents example of Alpha's organizational instability and Joe's tendency to replace marketing leadership
  • Termination reflects Joe's dissatisfaction with marketing performance and decision to take direct control
  • His firing confirmed by multiple sources (Austen Allred, organizational intelligence)
  • Departure part of broader pattern of Alpha leadership changes and organizational restructuring