40. How YCombinator is Working to Save the US Education System from Collapse | Geoff Ralston of YC
Summary: Geoff Ralston (<a href="https://twitter.com/gralston">@gralston</a>) is the founder of <a href="http://www.imaginek12.com/">Imagine K12</a>, an education focused vertical within the super successful startup accelerator YCombinator. Collectively, Y Combinator and Imagine K12 have backed over 100 education technology startups. In addition to his work with YC, Geoff’s a prolific angel investor, with over 80 portfolio companies and 18 exits to date.<br> Prior to joining YC as a Partner, Geoff was the CEO of Lala Media, a music startup which was acquired by Apple for $80M in 2009. He also spent 9 years at Yahoo and was the Former Chief Product Officer a decade before the company became irrelevant.<br> <br> <br> <a href="https://fringe.fm/itunestextlink">You can listen right here on iTunes</a><br> In our wide-ranging conversation, we cover many things, including:<br> <br> * The major problems with America’s education system<br> * How startups and YC are working to redesign education<br> * Is college still necessary?<br> * How venture capitalists can make outsized differences in the world<br> * Why education and healthcare as so expensive and slow to adapt<br> * What angel investors need to know to avoid losing money<br> * How Geoff thinks about industries and investment philosophies<br> * Why Geoff started an edtech accelerator and merged with YCombinator<br> * The reason Geoff is incredibly optimistic about biotech and AI<br> * The ethical issues of education and access and how we can fix them<br> * Why education NEEDS to be personalized<br> * How to hone your craft and becoming worldclass<br> * Which industries Geoff is most excited about<br> <br> <a href="http://fringe.fm/itunes"></a><br> <a href="http://fringe.fm/stitcher"></a><br> —<br> Make a Tax-Deductible Donation to Support FringeFM<br> <br> FringeFM is supported by the generosity of its readers and listeners. If you find our work valuable, please consider supporting us on <a href="http://fringe.fm/donate">Patreon,</a> via <a href="https://fringe.fm/paypal">Paypal</a> or with <a href="https://fringe.fm/donorbox">DonorBox powered by Stripe</a>.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br>
