logo
episode-header-image
Dec 2024
38m 54s

Fixing Education in America: What's Stop...

Andreessen Horowitz
About this episode

Over half of Americans live in childcare deserts, while 90% of brain development happens before the age of five. All the while, education and childcare remain among the most resistant sectors to technological change. Billions of dollars have been spent, but outcomes continue to lag. Why?

In this episode, we dive into the systemic issues—misaligned incentives, political resistance, and the lack of a shared vision around the purchase of an education. We also explore how technology and entrepreneurial innovation may be shifting the tide.

You’ll hear from Anurupa Ganguly (Prisms), Chris Bennett (Wonderschool), Anna Edwards (Whiteboard Advisors), and a16z General Partner Jeff Jordan discuss the criticality of early childhood education, how public-private partnerships are required for scale, and how we can engage risk-averse decision-makers. 

Listen to learn how the next generation can reclaim the American dream.

 

Resources: 

Find Jeff on Twitter: https://x.com/jeff_jordan

Find Chris on Twitter: https://x.com/8ennett

Find Anna on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annakimseyedwards/

Find Anurupa on Twitter: https://x.com/aganguly26

 

Stay Updated: 

Let us know what you think: https://ratethispodcast.com/a16z

Find a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z

Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z

Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/

Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio

Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

Up next
Yesterday
Stablecoins & the Future Financial System
a16z Crypto General Partners Ali Yahya, Arianna Simpson, and Erik Torenberg break down what’s actually working in crypto today - starting with the rise of stablecoins as a real-world payments layer. They discuss how stablecoins are being adopted by companies like Stripe and Space ... Show More
37m 52s
Jul 7
How Andreessen Horowitz Disrupted VC & What’s Coming Next
On this episode, taken from The Ben & Marc Show, a16z co-founders Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz dive deep into the unfiltered story behind the founding of Andreessen Horowitz—and how they set out to reinvent venture capital itself. For the first time, Marc and Ben walk through ... Show More
1h 23m
Jul 4
Enabling Agents and Battling Bots on an AI-Centric Web
Taken from the AI + a16z podcast, Arcjet CEO David Mytton sits down with a16z partner Joel de la Garza to discuss the increasing complexity of managing who can access websites, and other web apps, and what they can do there. A primary challenge is determining whether automated tr ... Show More
26m 24s
Recommended Episodes
Nov 2024
MI376: Why Do Great Companies Fail? The Innovator’s Dilemma w/ Shawn O’Malley
In today’s episode, Shawn O’Malley (@shawn_OMalley_) discusses why great companies fail, as outlined by Clayton Christensen in his timeless book, The Innovator’s Dilemma, which was first published in 1997. The Economist actually named it one of the six most important business boo ... Show More
53m 4s
Sep 2024
A Lessin In Gen AI with Sam Lessin of Slow Ventures | Okay, Computer.
Dan Nathan and Deirdre Bosa explore Amazon's strategic investment in Anthropic, the potential of Apple's upcoming AI features, and the importance of cloud service credits in AI investments. The regulatory challenges and future of TikTok in the US market are also scrutinized.After ... Show More
1h 4m
Dec 2024
Jared Kushner - The Mechanic - [Invest Like the Best, EP.403]
My guest today is Jared Kushner. Jared has lived more lives than just about anyone I know his age. He ran Kushner companies for years, investing in real estate in and around New York City. He owned the New York Observer. He was a senior advisor to President Trump in his first ter ... Show More
2h 54m
Aug 2024
TIP651: Value Investing in a Growth-Obsessed Market w/ Scott Barbee
On today’s episode, Kyle Grieve chats with Scott Barbee about how he managed to maintain a deep value-based strategy while it’s gone out of fashion, the three buckets of risk Scott uses to assess businesses, what a genetic contrarian is and why it can be a powerful advantage, why ... Show More
1h 6m
Apr 15
Keeping cleantech investment alive | With technological, economic and policy challenges mounting, how can we keep energy innovation on track?
These are hard times for investment in low-carbon energy. The lack of progress in international climate negotiations, threats to policy support, and an increased awareness of the challenges of decarbonization, have created some strong headwinds. Everyone agrees that more breakthr ... Show More
53m 10s
Jul 2024
President Harris: Tech's New Ally? Crowdstrike's Black Swan Attack and Sam Altman's World Without Work (Reacts) w/ Emil Michael
Could the rise of Kamala Harris as the new Democratic candidate impact the tech industry in significant ways?  Find out how her presidency, Crowdstrike's massive outage, and Sam Altman's UBI experiment could shape the future of your tech startup in this week's insightful Reacts e ... Show More
51m 39s
Jan 2025
TIP692: Reading the Signals: How To Identify Winning Investments w/ Andrew Martin
In today's episode, Kyle Grieve chats with Andrew Martin about how he utilized his PhD in investing, the typical traits Andrew looks for in great investments, valuable physics-related mental models to improve your thinking processes, why Andrew is attracted to smallcap stocks, ho ... Show More
1h 12m
Oct 2024
Why climate tech startups get this one thing wrong
This might be our wonkiest topic yet: Techno-economic analysis, or TEA. Before a startup proves its technology is commercially viable, it models how a technology would work. These TEAs include things like assumptions about inputs, prices, and market landscape. They help investors ... Show More
49m 38s
Aug 2024
Big Tech Doesn't Want You Anymore
Send us a textBig Tech is slashing hundreds of thousands of jobs and blaming artificial intelligence, but there may be more to the story than that. Intel just announced fifteen thousand layoffs yesterday, causing their stock price to plunge. Big Tech, who for over a decade provid ... Show More
24m 59s
Jun 24
What VCs Get Wrong About Building Durable Startups with Tim Levene
In this episode of Couchonomics with Arjun, we sit down with Tim Levene, CEO of Augmentum Fintech, the UK’s only publicly listed fintech venture capital firm.From going public to backing infrastructure instead of hype, Tim shares what permanent capital allows that traditional VC ... Show More
56m 57s