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Selling Education


To sell out crowds.  LOL.  Not quite.  In fact the opposite.  Cold hard truth.  In bay area aka Silicon Valley the pressure is apparent and present.  How to get in to an elite Univ or College without fail when you have straight As.  But wait -- what if I do have a stellar academic profile.  That is not enough.

Today we sat in on a session (myself in full disclosure to get material to write another blog) hosted by an Asian entrepreneur that talked about his and his team's unique value add offering to a child in school.  As in anywhere between middle school and high.  We are talking kids as young as 12 who literally had all their permanent teeth come in a few days ago. 

Thus begins the new age of grooming.  Used to be brides (some in their teens) were prepared and still are in many parts of the developing world to find a suitor and get them wed.  From diet to beauty it is all a choreographed sequence with hopes to ensure a good home for the new bride to be.

This is no different.  In the race of life today's world is collapsing on the very notion of a child growing up to enjoy childhood.  Instead it is replaced by a maddening race to finish school when you are 15 and college by 18 so that you can make your first million by 25.

WTF?? Maybe.  But to a lot of zero and first generation Asian migrant parents in these United States (and in some cases for their kids) it is the default.  The business model of these agencies touting to get your son or daughter into Stanford or an Ivy is basically built on relationships. 

We are different as we teach you offense not just defense.  Suddenly 100 iphones went up and took picture of this profound message displayed on the slide during the narrative.  I kid you not the attendee population was 60% Asian, 45% Indian and 2 Jewish couples.

These tutoring centers as they are branded no doubt to earn some favorable tax break are nothing more than a handshake machine.  One handshake with so and so, assuming you have what it takes (4+ GPA and near perfect SAT + a string instrument or two mastered with a recommendation from an established doctor or startup C level dude) is a network mixer that allows you a shot at a conversation with the dean of admissions to get selected into the elite schooling apparatus of America.

These academies as some are called will mention that they do not view it as a transaction but a way to engage with you to make the whole exercise worth your time (and theirs).. the sooner you enroll the earlier their meter starts.

To me the very fact this type of academy / tutor/ business exists speaks volumes of the state of the education system and the world that these children will enter.  No doubt we are not spending a red cent on this business idea.

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