Can't wait to see what these talented and committed engineers cook up! We're hiring out of this group, and many more to come.

People everywhere wonder why our system is broken. Kids get hurt. Adults are angry. The solution can’t be this. It can’t be embarrassingly uninformed about how the world actually works. Be better. Our kids deserve it.

One of the most powerful words in leadership is “no.” Recently, I discovered that when I said “no”, it helped me make room for my biggest priorities. I used to pride myself on my daily NYT crossword puzzle streak until I realized something. Those precious minutes at night figuring out the crossword were minutes I wasn’t spending on what truly mattered, like reading, time with family, or resolving something I wanted to think through for work. That realization sparked a deeper reflection. What if success isn’t about adding more to our plates, but instead carefully choosing what stays on them? I mapped out my core values: ♥️Being present for my family 🏃Maintaining my physical and mental health 🍎Advancing education and making a difference in students’ lives Suddenly, decisions became clearer. Every time I said “yes” or “no,” I found it a lot easier to decide which answer to give by seeing whether or not the ask aligned with my fundamental priorities. The surprising part? This clarity started rippling outward to all aspects of my life. For example, when I prioritized morning runs, something unexpected happened - two colleagues joined me. Now they’re training for their first 5Ks. Leadership is about the examples that we set through our daily choices. As leaders, we need to make sure we’re showing others that it’s okay to say “no” to good things so that we can make room for the great things. I did end up breaking my crossword streak. But I gained something much more valuable: alignment between my priorities and my actions. At the end of the day, time is the only resource we can’t make more of. How we spend it tells others what we truly value.

C-suite partnerships thrive when there’s alignment on shared goals. My partnership with @chicagovilardo works because we’re both deeply passionate about the same outcomes. Whether it’s a micro goal like running a half marathon together (which we completed recently), or our guiding macro goal like transforming education, (still working on that one, but making progress) we always know what we’re aiming for. Of course, this shared focus doesn’t eliminate conflict - but it gives us a framework to navigate disagreement when it arises. When we see things differently (and we often do), we can step back and ask: How does this align with our end goal? It’s like any strong relationship - if you’re not aiming at the same target, everything else can start to fall apart. Something else that makes our dynamic work? We bring complementary strengths to the table: 🔹 I draw on my deep, long-standing experience in education. 🔹 Michael challenges assumptions with fresh perspectives and a refusal to accept the status quo. This dynamic pushes us to think critically, question our approach, and ultimately make better decisions. The key is revisiting our goal - constantly. Shared alignment isn’t something you set and forget. We check in, recalibrate, and confirm: Are we still aiming at the same outcome? Even if we veer slightly off path, that shared focus ensures we keep moving forward, together.

For decades, EdTech has been chasing an elusive promise: personalized, adaptive learning. It’s been a holy grail of sorts - content that meets each student where they are. In the early 2010s, this goal became a selling point for learning management systems. I remember it well. Back then, I was at Schoology, competing with Canvas. We all marketed the idea of LMS platforms as the solution for personalized learning. We talked about it, hyped it up - but did we deliver on the promise of true personalization? Not really. Why? Because at the core of personalized learning is something that technology alone can’t replicate: teachers. The best educators personalize learning instinctively. They get to know their students - what they’re good at, where they struggle, what excites them - and they adapt, lesson by lesson, conversation by conversation. Now, at @TrySubject, we’re following these educators’ example by being relentlessly student-centered. And to deliver on the promise of personalized, adaptive learning, we focus on two critical steps: 🎥Engaging Content: The first step is ensuring our content is compelling, fun, and media-rich, because students won’t learn if they aren’t engaged. 🙋Individualized Learning Experiences: We are moving beyond one-size-fits-all templates. By leveraging tech to understand each student’s unique needs, we can deliver personalized and adaptive learning experiences at scale. For educators, this means leaning into technology - not as a replacement, but as a tool - to amplify what they already do best. The holy grail of personalized learning is now within reach. When tech and teaching unite, we can give every student the individualized experience they deserve.

How do you figure out what a 12-year-old wants? Go talk to 12-year-olds. When you’re building for high school (and now middle school) students, there’s one thing you learn quickly: You can’t assume you know what they want. Having 11- to 18-year-olds as our end-users is a challenge. They’re tough to please, quick to adapt, and unapologetically honest. That’s why, at @TrySubject, we focus on a few guiding principles for our product: talk to them, observe them, listen to them. Whether we’re designing new features or updating existing ones, every decision starts with understanding our end users - the students themselves. That’s why, when I interview designers or engineers, I ask one critical question: How do you make sure your designs reflect what students actually want and need? The only answer I want to hear is: “I go spend time with them.” Not assumptions. Not guesses. Not “I think they want X.” I want to know my team will: 🚶‍♂️ Be in the field with our customer success team. 📋 Send surveys to gather direct feedback. 👀 Pay attention to trends, commentary, and what’s popular - through a student’s lens, not an adult’s. Great products aren’t built on hunches. They’re built through relentless connection with the end user. If you’re not talking to your users incessantly - no matter their age - then you’re not building for them. You’re building for yourself. So, here’s the challenge: Are you spending enough time with the people you’re designing for? If not, it’s time to get in the room. That’s where the real answers are.

These days, I choose quality over quantity in my friendships. When I was younger, friendships were spread across pickup basketball games, Super Bowl parties, and nights out. But at this stage of my life, I need different things from my friends. Mainly because, as many entrepreneurs know, building something special can empty your cup - fast. Every day, we pour out energy, enthusiasm, and focus into our work, our team, and our goals. This is just the reality of the job, but it’s not sustainable. To show up as our best selves, that cup needs to be refilled. Of course, the first to refill my cup are my family. An hour helping my son study or a quiet conversation with my wife can revitalize me in ways nothing else can. But I’ve learned that I also need close friendships to feel fully restored. So now, I’m intentional. I focus on relationships that truly fill me up and align with who I am and where I’m headed. For me, that looks like: 🤝 Being surrounded by people who hold me accountable to my priorities. 🧠 Spending time with friends who understand me and know what matters most. ⚡ Showing up for moments that recharge - whether it’s a quiet run, a good conversation, or simply being present together. As busy professionals, our time isn’t infinite. Every minute is precious. That’s why I’m focused on friendships that leave me energized - ready to show up fully for my family, my team, and my work. It’s not about having more friends. It’s about having the right ones. So I’ll ask: Who’s filling your cup? For me, it’s fewer people, deeper connections, and time well spent.

It’s 2024, yet many schools are still grading students with systems developed half a century ago… And it’s failing them. These outdated models create two fundamental problems with how we assess students today: 1️⃣ The fallacy of the 100-point scale The 100-point grading scale is ingrained in our schools and culture. A single zero for a missed assignment can disproportionately tank a student’s grade, creating an inaccurate picture of their academic capabilities. This system doesn’t assess what a student knows or can do - it punishes them by reducing nuanced learning progress into a flawed, oversimplified number. 2️⃣ Conflating academic ability with responsibility We’ve merged academic performance with behaviors like participation, punctuality, and turning in assignments on time. While these traits are important, they’re not the same as mastering academic standards. In elementary schools, we often separate the two - academic progress and citizenship. By middle and high school, they’re lumped into a single letter grade. The result? Teachers are left to decode what a “C” actually means: Is it a knowledge gap or a lack of participation? Educators and experts have spoken about the problems with this model for decades. Some schools have innovated with alternatives, but by and large, the status quo remains. Why? Because it’s what parents, communities, and institutions know. Change feels unfamiliar, even when it’s better for students. As a result, our educational system is failing students by clinging to outdated practices - and it’s not our teachers' faults. It’s on us - as educators, parents, and leaders - to demand systems that set our students up for success. Our students deserve a system that reflects their true academic capabilities - not one stuck in the past.

Our students have never seen anything like @TrySubject's Season 5 courses. They’re creative, engaging, and media-forward - while maintaining the academic quality needed to ensure real learning outcomes. So, where did the upgrade come from? More than ever before, we got in the weeds. I worked side-by-side with the education and production teams, sweating the details to align every element of these courses with our mission: delivering high-quality e-learning. From shaping creative direction to narrating parts of the New Mexico History videos, our leadership team was directly involved in the day-to-day work. Here’s what happens when the C-suite rolls up their sleeves and gets involved: 🔭Vision Alignment: By being in the room, leadership ensures every decision reflects the company’s overarching mission. ⚙️Quality Assurance: Tactical involvement makes it easier to spot and address gaps that could derail outcomes. 🎇Creativity & Engagement: Close collaboration with the team unlocks the space to push boundaries and try new ideas. Executive leaders often focus on strategy, and that’s essential. But when you’re building something as impactful as educational content, participation is just as important. Being in the weeds means you don’t just have to trust the process - you actively shape it. This approach has been a game-changer for us. Leadership showed up, rolled up their sleeves, and stayed involved. And the result? Our new courses don’t just teach - they inspire. We’ll be sharing more of our New Mexico History course soon, and I can’t wait for you to see how far we’ve pushed the envelope.

As the next administration prepares to assume power, there’s a lot of uncertainty in the world of education. Chief among the chatter is a discussion about eliminating federal oversight of our country’s education system and transferring that power to state and local governments. While it’s not necessarily that the states and local municipalities can’t handle that responsibility, the shift away from a federal Department of Education is still a step backward. No matter what path a student takes - whether they pursue a trade, college, post-secondary education, or military service - we can all agree that educators should teach learners across the country certain common skills to help them become successful, contributing members of society and responsible citizens. Skills like… 📚 Reading 📝 Writing 💭 Critical thinking ➕ Basic math 💰 Financial literacy …which are all necessary to become a successful and contributing citizen. Eliminating federal oversight of these core competencies means we will lose the ability to establish a standard for how we treat every student across the country. In a nation like ours, it seems pretty ludicrous to let someone's birthplace dictate their access to educational opportunities and goals. Here’s hoping that our education system keeps students front-of-mind in the coming years.

Ask any school-aged kid whether they’d rather watch a movie or go to class, and you can probably guess what their answer is. That’s exactly why at @TrySubject we’ve been incorporating elements of Hollywood filmmaking into our educational content production - and using Hollywood talent to develop it. But our content isn’t just great to look at. We also prioritize fantastic educational quality - as evidenced by our National Collegiate Athletic Association and University of California A-G accreditations and approvals. Our amazing production quality with our rigorous academic standards makes the whole package unparalleled. By putting time and effort into things like the quality of the videography, post-production, and narrative elements, we’re making academic lessons much more engaging. And we’re also showing our students that we honor the time they spend with our content - by presenting them with something they really want to watch. Instead of lesson after lesson of a teacher at a whiteboard - which is the case with many of our competitors’ content - we’re giving our students lessons that go above and beyond the traditional model, paired with the high-quality academic material written by our educators and all the tasks and assessments that are vital to a course. You don’t need to choose between educating and entertaining. By reimagining educational content thoughtfully, you can do both.

We are no longer confined to four walls and a whiteboard to educate. Technology and other innovative tools have opened a whole new world to educators and students. But those possibilities also come with the responsibility to keep kids engaged and learning without the structure of those walls and whiteboards. Because of this lack of traditional structure, the learning environment provided by an online platform is vital to help kids succeed. Yes, the technology that empowers online education is essential, but even more important is the delivery of the content on the platform, and how it engages students. Think about how in-person classrooms keep students’ attention. Schools control the learning environment, offering a distraction-free opportunity to listen, understand, and ask questions. This is not the case with online courses. Students may complete their work at a quiet library, in an active home, or anywhere in between. So, the online content must cut through any potential distractions and disruptions - which is why it needs to be incredibly compelling and engaging. When considering an e-learning provider for your students, remember that students need not only the ability to do the online work but also the motivation to complete it. So look for the providers that grab students’ attention…and know how to keep it.

In online learning, consistency is king. Outside the confines of a traditional classroom, students working in an e-learning environment often have unpredictable surroundings, which makes accomplishing their work challenging. That’s why it’s important for e-learning providers to build in consistency - so that students can focus and get their work done, without wondering “What comes next?” Being intentional about providing a consistent structure across different units and topics in an e-learning environment helps students know what to expect. At @TrySubject, each of our units moves predictably from short-form videos and knowledge checks to assignments leading to higher-order thinking, and finally a test. Students know approximately how long each task will take them to accomplish, and that means they can progress confidently, even when they have limited time. When students have to complete their work in less-than-ideal (noisy, disruptive, distracting) environments, or have other demands on their time (jobs, friends, activities, and family responsibilities), this predictability helps them make progress and be successful. When students know what to expect in their upcoming coursework, it enables them to accomplish their learning goals, no matter the circumstances.

When you know you have a winning product, you jump in with both feet. At @TrySubject, we know we have a winning model for online learning. That’s why we are continuing our strong commitment to innovation for the student learning experience in 2025. This excitement stems not only from our confidence in our product but also from the amazing, positive feedback we’ve received from school districts. We love hearing that what we’re doing is working: 🎥 Production just wrapped for Season 5 📝 The launch of our Middle School suite 🚀 Preparing for another launch of courses next year 🤖 More capabilities focused on data and Generative AI Now our goal is to keep this momentum going. By constantly adding new content, capabilities, and more to our platform, we know we can continue to improve student outcomes and engagement. This year has been all about growth at Subject, and while we know we already have a great product, we’re committed to continuing to serve our students and teachers. We’re excited about where we’ve been in 2024, and where we’re headed in 2025 and beyond - we can’t wait to bring you more exciting content and capabilities to empower students.

Grit beats doubt every time - but sometimes, you have to run a half-marathon to prove it to yourself. In October, @chicagovilardo and I set out for the @LBMarathon and Half Marathon. The day started at 4 a.m. with thousands running alongside an ocean breeze. Running for over 2 hours straight, up hills and along the beach, without walking, seemed impossible at first. By miles 10 and 11, my legs were burning, and the temptation to slow down was real. But the sense of accomplishment pushing through those last miles - Michael and I finishing just three minutes apart - made every exhausting step worth it. There’s something powerful about persevering through difficulty, especially when a friend and colleague is suffering right there alongside you. We celebrated together, knowing we’d both conquered something we weren’t sure we could, and proud that we’d given it our all. That sense of pushing past your limits is really what stuck with me from my half-marathon experience. With this accomplishment under my belt, I feel ready to take on any challenge - not with doubt, but with perseverance and grit.

More father-son time has given me a whole new perspective on education. Since moving to LA, I’ve been able to spend my evenings and weekends with my son, and it’s been incredible to watch him mature. I’m so impressed with how he’s been handling more freedom and responsibility than ever, while thankful that I’ve been given the opportunity to strengthen our bond through long walks, workouts, and beach trips. But beyond just enjoying this time together, I’ve also been reflecting on his education journey. While he grows in this new environment, I can see how some of his past educational experiences have failed to help him feel successful now. Though overcoming these past trials was frustrating, he’s learning to face these challenges head-on. But my son’s experience reminds me that other struggling students aren’t as fortunate. Every student deserves a learning experience tailored to their unique needs, but millions of kids don’t have access to that right now. This is exactly the gap we at @TrySubject hope to bridge in our current education system. A difference in education quality can have drastic impacts on future outcomes. Watching my son navigate this challenging but exciting time reinforces the importance of creating educational tools that support students no matter where they’re at in their learning journey. We should continue to aspire to make a difference for the next generation of learners - their education will be the greatest tool in their future success.