Call Summary: Schoolhouse Pilot Strategy & Paris Trip

Overview

Gary and Ron connect on New Year's to discuss Ron's trip to Europe and the latest strategic evolution of Schoolhouse. Ron is going "1000%" all-in on a pilot program involving a "library of the future" model in a residential mansion, while Gary provides updates on the Texas TEFA timeline and coordination with Prenda.

Key Topics Discussed

New Year's Reflections & Supernatural Experiences

• Gary's New Year's: Gary spent New Year's at a church with Tim Joo. He shared how Tim was significantly "triggered" when the pastor delivered a "word of knowledge" regarding Tim's mental health and finance issues.
• Supernatural Stories: Gary met an old couple through his pastor who shared supernatural stories from their past.
• Gary's Living Situation: Gary is crashing with a friend who is helping grow major podcasts (Ryan Holiday, Andrew Huberman) while he considers his longer-term moves.

Ron's Europe Trip

• Current Location: Ron is currently in Paris, enjoying the city before heading to Romania on Monday.
• Random Connection: Gary informed Ron that Tim Dort-Golts is also in Paris with his cousin. Ron plans to link up with him for breakfast the next morning.

Schoolhouse Strategy: The "Library of the Future"

• Platform Agnostic: Ron is focused on the experience rather than the specific software, considering AcademicOS or Prenda as potential partners.
• The Concept: A "co-working space" or "library of the future" for kids that provides enrichment workshops.
• Brand & Experience: Ron believes "cool factor" and "brand alignment" are more important than curriculum for attracting youth. "How do you just make this an objectively better option than any public school offering? And it's going to be through their enrichment programs, and it's going to be through how cool it is... how the space is designed."
• The Pilot: Ron plans to rent a "residential crib" (likely a mansion) in Austin to run a one-year pilot with virtual, hybrid, and resident students.
• Economics: The pilot is expected to cost under $1M for opex/staff. Ron mentions they have "a bunch of new reserves" for this experiment.

Texas TEFA & Prenda Coordination

• ESA Partnership: Gary is tasked with following up with Kelly Smith (Prenda) to check their ESA status and explore a "wrapper" partnership where Prenda handles the payroll/routing of funds.
• Funding Timeline: Gary updated Ron on the Texas TEFA (Education Savings Account) timeline:
  • February: Parent applications open.
  • Mid-March: Application deadline.
  • April: Notification of awards.
• Lottery Risk: Gary cautioned Ron to target parents who would pay regardless of the ESA lottery, as the program is capped (approx. 80-100k people for the first billion-dollar budget).

Key Quotes

• Ron: "The thing to index on for this is not even necessarily curriculum. It's experience. And it's like brand alignment and it's like the cool factor."
• Ron: "I'm going to just be on the road until I finish raising and then kind of come back and build it."
• Gary (on Tim Joo): "He was super triggered by the fact that Pastor knew stuff about him through word of knowledge."
• Ron (on the pilot): "I'll get like a residential crib and rent it out... like a mansion or something... and just make it really like a cool ass school to go to."

Action Items / Takeaways

• Gary: Email Kelly Smith (Prenda) to verify ESA compliance and explore the financial "wrapper" model for Schoolhouse.
• Ron: Meet Tim Dort-Golts for breakfast in Paris.
• Ron: Continue fundraising ("Like M" round) while traveling in Europe.
• Strategy: Focus on "discretion" and "character" as previously discussed, while building the "Schoolhouse" brand publicly.