Strategic Alpha Schools Discussion - Gary & Alex Baydar

Date: May 31, 2025 Location: New York City (multiple locations) Participants: Gary Sheng, Alex Baydar Duration: Extended conversation through the day

Executive Summary

Gary and Alex had an intensive strategic conversation about Gary's deteriorating situation at Alpha Schools, his frustrations with billionaire founder Joe Liemandt, and tactical approaches for building leverage and potentially launching a competing education venture. The conversation revealed deep insights into power dynamics with wealthy founders and strategic approaches to career transitions.

Key Strategic Insights

The "You Can't Be Everything to Everyone" Realization

Gary opened with a fundamental insight about focus and acceptance:

Gary: "One thing I realized is that you can't be everything to everyone. What do you think about that? It's an important realization."

Alex's initial reaction revealed personal growth over time:

Alex: "I know I was offended when I heard that initially... I thought it was like a sign of weakness to not be better than everybody and it was a call to action. But that's naive and I think the older you get the more you're better off taking that advice."

Psychology of Criticism and Projection

The conversation revealed sophisticated understanding of human psychology:

Gary: "We hate in others what we hate in ourselves... Or what we lack. So if you're not emotionally stable and self-aware about that, you'll get triggered all the time based on what you're jealous about other people and also what you know you need to fix in yourself."

Alex: "I used to get really upset when people were mad at me. I thought it was something that I did wrong... I would spend a lot of time trying to figure out why people didn't like me. It's a waste of time."

Alpha Schools Situation Analysis

The True Power Structure Discovery

Gary revealed his investigation into Alpha Schools' real hierarchy:

Gary: "Here's what I found out. Joe Lamont, Credit Trilogy, right? He hired, this guy named Andy Price, who hired this woman named Mackenzie... They fucked. He didn't fire either of them... every dollar from the Price family came from Joe for the last like 25 years, maybe 35 years. He owns the fucking, he owns them."

Key Discovery: MacKenzie Price may have founded Alpha Schools, but Joe Liemandt funded everything, making him the true power behind the organization.

Gary's Frustrated Positioning

Despite being hired as a strategic consultant, Gary faced resistance to elevation:

Gary: "I am, he is, even though he's agreed with every single diagnostic that I individually point out, he does not want to elevate me. Because I've only been around for two months... I'm trying to save your fucking ass. Because if you don't elevate me now, you're fucked."

Earnings: $600k/year consulting fee but no equity or real authority

The Leverage Problem

Gary articulated the core challenge with wealthy founders:

Gary: "They only respond to existential threats from outside... But they should feel it in their pocket from a profit internally because it's way better to get ahead of it two years before it happens. But then they didn't listen to you."

Alex's Strategic Advice Framework

Building Leverage Through Competition

Alex provided tactical guidance on creating pressure:

Alex: "Here's how you get leverage, right? Maybe there's a competing organization. That distracts all the tuition from going to his school to the other school... It's almost like you can't be the one, you can't be the face of it, but you can be the one influencing it."

The Courage to Walk Away

Alex emphasized the psychological shift required:

Alex: "Have the courage to walk away... Some things have to die for other things to be born. Thank God I left, you know. It was like the greatest thing that I could have done."

Pattern Recognition in Difficult Leaders

Alex: "They're all like that. I see this over and over again... Don't even assume anyone is enlightened... if they were they would be chasing you. The fact that you're going to them means that they're kind of frozen."

Personal Growth and Relationship Philosophy

Quality Over Quantity in Relationships

Both emphasized the importance of meaningful connections:

Gary: "I've never gotten how people just have drinking buddies or whatever. It's a waste of fucking time. You're gonna meet low-ass quality people?"

Alex: "The role that you play in my life is life coach. But we're mutual life coaches."

The Mentor-Mentee Dynamic

Gary expressed gratitude for Alex's guidance:

Gary: "I would not be here without you... it is these critical conversations that completely change your life. Because you can waste your time pushing a boulder up a hill for years if you don't have these kind of conversations. This is the kind of person I want to be for my mentees, bro. Just like, save their fucking ass."

Religious and Philosophical Framework

Divine Standards as North Star

Gary articulated his approach to unwavering conviction:

Gary: "If you don't have, like, divine standards, divine north stars, you end up having just to defer to some authority, right? Like, how do you have unwavering conviction if you don't have guidance by a divine authority? Yeah. You can't."

Human Flourishing as Universal Metric

Gary advocated for human flourishing as the ultimate business and societal metric:

Gary: "If human flourishing is not your goal, you end up accidentally or explicitly optimizing for the wrong stuff. And what I'm literally saying is optimize for all of it. Optimize for considering the whole equation of every person, every employee, every person that's using your product."

Alex: "That metric is a great through-line metric, almost. It can apply to almost every facet. It's like, does this benefit or harm human flourishing?"

June 14th Event Strategic Planning

Using Alpha Resources for Personal Network Building

Gary revealed his tactical approach to the upcoming Alpha Schools event:

Gary: "I'm using alpha money to basically get a bunch of people together and then making getting a bunch of people I like to get to know each other separate from the alpha mission... I'm making [Lael Alexander] the star of that show."

Partnership Development with Alex Ed

Gary pitched collaboration with Alex's educational venture:

Gary: "I want to start exploring what Alex Ed is more deeply... I think it would be great if you could come and then also make a family trip out of it."

Competitive Education Strategy

The Alex Ed Alternative

Gary positioned Alex's education venture as a superior alternative:

Gary: "If one of the ancillary outcomes of Alex Ed ascending greater and greater is deep fear from Alpha, such that it actually evolves, that's great. But as far as I'm concerned, I do not care, because it sounds like you guys actually really care about the outcomes for the kids, not just building a social media following for fucking Mackenzie Price."

Lael Alexander as Secret Weapon

Gary positioned his connection with Lael Alexander as transformational:

Gary: "And let me tell you, you are going to be blown away by Lyle Alexander. When he had some heart problems last year, he wrote 80 plus books, including a book on every periodic table element. This is the smartest man in the world, and it's why China gave him a blank check to build Shenzhen."

Key Tactical Decisions

The "Milk Them" Strategy

Gary decided on a new approach to his Alpha Schools role:

Gary: "I'm just not gonna go out of my way anymore to ask hard questions. Be the least worst employee... I'll literally play Game of Robin Hood, where like, if you do not want... I could probably milk this for a while."

Event Leverage Strategy

Gary: "I'm gonna use the June 14th event to fuckin' just get all my fuckin' friends together for a dope event... And then just literally build partnerships for elsewhere, right? Make yourself positioned better."

Personal Life Philosophy Insights

The Non-Conformity Declaration

Gary: "I decided a long time ago that I would not conform to the world."

Strategic Life Design

Gary: "Everything has been strategic, bro. Everything I've been doing has been strategic. About, like, helping me get deep into this, like, flow that depends on no person, right? I didn't even know what the fuck Joe Lamont was in December. My life will be fine without him."

Connection to Ryan VanGundy's Loft

The conversation concluded at Ryan VanGundy's unique Bowery loft, connecting to the later transcript where they met Asif Rahman. This location provided the setting for continued strategic discussions about venues and networking opportunities.

Key Quotes

On Leverage and Power Dynamics:

Alex: "All negotiation comes down to leverage. Whoever has the ability to walk away from a deal... put the pressure on them to make a decision."

On Leadership Quality:

Gary: "You can't care more about it than the founder... if I'm going to be honest, bro, Joe's not cut out for this... They're old as fuck, bro. They're not going to change."

On Mission Alignment:

Gary: "I don't care about Joe. I really don't. He's a bad steward of the mission."

On Future Vision:

Alex: "That's how I know you're going to be successful. That's how I know you're going to make this happen is because you're just so aligned with where it's supposed to be and how it's supposed to go about it."

On Divine Guidance:

Gary: "Literally, this is the power of the Sabbath... It's just to have some time with God, and God gives you the answers, really, honestly. But God channels through people like you, as well."

Strategic Implications

This conversation represented a crucial inflection point in Gary's career strategy:

1. Clear Assessment: Recognition that Joe Liemandt/Alpha Schools is not the right vehicle for Gary's mission
2. Leverage Building: Tactical approach to using Alpha resources while building external alternatives
3. Partnership Development: Active cultivation of Alex Ed and Lael Alexander relationships
4. Event Strategy: Using June 14th event for personal network building rather than Alpha promotion
5. Long-term Positioning: Setting up for eventual departure and competitive venture launch

The conversation demonstrated Alex's continued role as Gary's strategic advisor and the deep mutual respect in their relationship. Gary's willingness to "milk" Alpha while building alternatives shows sophisticated strategic thinking about transitioning from employed consultant to independent mission leader.

Personal Development Themes

• Courage to Walk Away: Both reflected on the importance of leaving situations that don't serve the mission
• Divine Guidance: Integration of spiritual framework with strategic decision-making
• Mutual Coaching: Recognition of the value of peer mentorship and honest feedback
• Mission over Money: Prioritizing purpose alignment over financial compensation
• Leverage Building: Understanding power dynamics and creating negotiating position