Jozef Gherman

Background

• Founder and CEO of StealthGPT, "the world's first undetectable AI platform" that helps bypass AI detection tools
• Currently running a ~$330k MRR business that he started with just $250
• Self-taught coder (learned during the pandemic)
• Former student body president at USF (University of South Florida)
• Previously experienced a business failure in crypto (2018-2019)
• Raised ~$400k in funding after bootstrapping to $30k MRR
• Recently relocated to Austin from Tampa for at least 3 months
• Has a team of about 10 people across Europe and the US (remote team, described as "very religious, very Christian")
• Previously lived in Denver and hosted a large event there ~13 months ago
• Currently working on a travel management app for family offices
• Recruited as Technical Marketing Lead for Alpha Schools (May 2025) at $400k base + incentive bonus

Perspectives & Insights

• On Failure & Persistence: Never lost faith in his ability to succeed despite setbacks. Believes in learning from mistakes and continuing to push forward no matter what.
• On Leadership: Emphasizes creating a family-like culture where team members feel valued and appreciated. Gives raises without employees needing to ask when performance is strong.
• On Business Strategy: Strongly believes product-led growth is insufficient - distribution and marketing are essential. Made a significant pivot from 10 free uses to 2 free uses which dramatically increased conversions.
• On Education: Critical of traditional education systems and their resistance to change. Believes AI could create personalized, adaptive learning experiences tailored to individual needs. Has developed a vision for personalized curriculum that adapts to students' changing interests and learning styles.
• On Networking: Places high value on maintaining genuine relationships and staying in contact with high-achievers. Credits his network for investment opportunities.
• On AI: Sees tremendous potential for AI to transform education by creating tailored experiences for different learning styles. Believes AI can create dynamic virtual professors and adapt curriculum in real-time.
• On Mindset: Advocates for an "arrogant" approach - believing in yourself despite logical reasons to give up. Values adopting a CEO mindset, even when you're not in charge.
• On Faith: Believes strongly in divine purpose, seeing his life challenges as part of a designed path.
• On Politics: Has strong views about prioritizing American interests and citizens.
• On Churches: Sees potential in utilizing empty church spaces during weekdays for educational purposes. Notes that there are approximately 30,000 churches in Texas alone that could serve as locations for schools.
• On Marketing Teams: "You shouldn't have more marketing people than students. That's a pretty basic one."
• On Funnel Optimization: "Once I changed this marketing funnel tweak, our trials went from getting five to eight trials a day to 150. Like over 10x."
• On Lean Operations: "Even if we raised the money, I wouldn't raise half the head count by one. I wouldn't. There's no need for it."
• On Data-Driven Decisions: "I am a very data science kind of guy where it's like, let's see – let's do this thing, and then let's see how the market reacts to it"

Spiky POVs

• "Don't let a value system stop you" - Believes too much focus on ethics can prevent progress in business
• "Be arrogant" - Views stubborn confidence as essential to success
• "Be selfish when necessary" - Advocates for setting boundaries and recognizing when self-interest is appropriate
• "Think like a CEO" - Recommends seeing situations from leadership perspective to provide greater value
• "Teachers are lazy" - Believes traditional education systems resist change because teachers and administrators don't want to adapt or be held accountable
• "AI can create personalized learning paths" - Envisions AI-driven curriculum that adapts to students' changing interests and learning styles
• "There's no secret to a startup" - "It's a thousand decisions, micro decisions that you make every single day"
• "Good marketers don't work for others" - "If you're a great marketer, you would do it [for yourself] – because marketing is just sales on a scale"
• "Summer is for ironing out, fall is for execution" - Strategic approach to education market timing

Business Achievements

• Built StealthGPT to ~$330k MRR with minimal investment
• Achieved iOS app top 50 ranking in education category
• Reduced customer support tickets from 100+ per day to 15-20 using AI chatbots
• Manages remote team of ~10 people across Europe and US
• Has conducted fewer than 20 total meetings with employees (fully async operations)
• 10x'd trial conversions through single funnel optimization

Alpha Schools Role & Strategy

• Technical Marketing Lead reporting to Alpha Scale (Gary Sheng & Ron Roberts)
• Compensation: $400k base salary + performance incentives (self-designed)
• Key responsibilities:
  • Complete website rebuild from scratch
  • Funnel architecture and optimization
  • Marketing automation and AI integration
  • Sales team structure design
  • Rapid testing and iteration
• Strategic insights for Alpha:
  • Position as "AI School" and "evolution of school"
  • Create low/middle/high ticket offers (homeschool software → 2-hour learning → physical schools)
  • Segment by parent frustration levels and income
  • Target $5M revenue in first quarter from proper funnels
  • Use summer 2025 to rebuild, launch for back-to-school season

Potential Collaboration Areas

• Potential CTO for GODWAVE Schools initiative
• Building educational technology that provides personalized learning experiences
• Creating systems for churches to host micro-schools
• Developing gamified approaches to school creation and expansion
• Building technology to support Christian educational networks
• Sharing connections in religious/faith-based media and entertainment
• Leading complete Alpha Schools marketing infrastructure rebuild
• Implementing data-driven funnel optimization across Alpha ecosystem

Connection Points

• Lives close to Gary's apartment in Austin
• Interested in potentially moving to the same apartment complex
• Participated in a fireside chat for Gauntlet AI graduates (2025-05-08)
• Expressed interest in helping with different Gauntlet or Superbuilder projects
• Relocated to Austin to be part of the tech scene
• Has experience in EdTech through his work with StealthGPT and education advocacy
• Expressed openness to continuing conversations and providing mentorship
• Interest in joining White House meetings related to AI
• Potential collaborator on GODWAVE Schools initiative
• Has a network of Christian connections and team members
• Key player in Alpha Labs embedded agency model
• Part of the "dictator" leadership approach with Gary and Ron

Interactions

• 2025-05-07: Dinner conversation discussing StealthGPT, educational technology ideas, and potential collaboration on GODWAVE Schools. Gary invited Jozef to do a fireside chat and potentially meet Joe Lamont.
• 2025-05-08: Fireside chat with Gary Sheng for Gauntlet AI graduates, discussing entrepreneurship, failure, education, and personal philosophy.
• 2025-05-25: Alpha Labs strategy session with Gary Sheng and Ron Roberts. Recruited as Technical Marketing Lead for Alpha Schools. Analyzed broken marketing funnels, proposed complete rebuild, discussed lean operations philosophy. Gary offered $400k base + incentives, positioning eventual path to CTO. Demonstrated deep marketing expertise and data-driven approach.

Notable Quotes

• "You cannot run the business. You can't beat the school system by being as tangled and messy and sloppy as the school system. It's just not going to fucking happen. You have to be lean and tight."
• "Now is the time for a product like this. And the guy who figures it out and creates a very central, well run, good funnel is going to win."
• On Alpha's current state: "So much money is being lit on fire, which is in and of itself, like infuriating."

Transcripts

Transcript ID	Date	Summary
2025-05-07-jozef-gherman-dinner-conversation	2025-05-07	Dinner discussion about GODWAVE Schools collaboration, StealthGPT background, and faith-based education initiatives
2025-05-08-jozef-gherman-fireside-chat	2025-05-08	Fireside chat with Gauntlet AI graduates covering entrepreneurship, business strategy, education, and personal philosophy
2025-05-25-gary-sheng-ron-roberts-jozef-gherman-alpha-labs-strategy	2025-05-25	Alpha Labs strategy session covering complete Alpha Schools marketing overhaul and Jozef's recruitment as Technical Marketing Lead

Action Items

• Follow up about potential collaboration opportunities on GODWAVE Schools
• Consider inviting to relevant Alpha Schools events
• Potential resource for discussions about AI in education
• Explore potential White House introductions in DC
• Share information about available apartments in Gary's building
• Connect with church leadership at Austin Ridge for potential tech development
• Discuss DC trip coordination for White House/technology meetings