Matt Clayton

Background

• Founder and leader of innovative LDS school network focused on "perfect schools"
• Brother of Heather Clayton Staker (education innovator and Guide School founder)
• Has extensive background working with churches and faith-based educational initiatives
• Building schools within existing church facilities to maximize underutilized real estate
• Strong conviction about going slow to go fast - focused on creating 4 perfect schools of 150 kids each rather than rapid scaling
• Has experience working across various church denominations and cultures
• Noted for ease of collaboration with Jewish communities and facilities

Professional Experience

School Development Philosophy

Quality Over Quantity Approach:

• Intentionally building only 4 perfect schools with 150 students each
• Believes in earning the "right of scaling" through proven excellence
• Focuses on perfecting operations before expansion
• Strong emphasis on community building and meaningful relationships

Church-Based School Model:

• Utilizes underutilized church facilities throughout the week
• Works across denominational lines
• Has found Jewish communities particularly collaborative and academically curious
• Integrates real meaningful work and relationships into educational model

Relationship with Joe Lonsdale

Initial Connection:

• Met Joe through Jeff Standifer (random connection)
• Initial formal relationship evolved into 7-hour deep strategic session
• Discovered complete alignment on educational vision and approach
• Joe described their meeting as spending from 9 AM to 4 PM in continuous discussion

Investment Discussions:

• Joe expressed interest in investing and asked whether Matt wanted gradual growth (5-10 years) or 10x acceleration
• Joe responded "easiest question in the world, 10 times that much" when offered faster scaling option
• Current arrangement includes a SAFE round with $250k token investment from Joe
• Formal larger investment pending proper agreement structure
• Neeraj indicated larger investment possible once formal agreements in place

Business Model Recognition:

• Joe sees $100 billion software business potential (Matt believes it's $200 billion including gaming)
• Joe confirmed Alpha runs as "AAA software enterprise custom solution shop"
• Matt positioned to avoid pitfalls of similar companies (Primer, Prisma, Prenda, AllSchool)

Current Focus & Projects

School Network Development

Operational Goals:

• Building small network of schools in Utah
• Already planning $2M-$1.5M investment for regional expansion
• Focus on perfecting school operations and leadership development
• Developing sustainable staffing and training models

Staffing Strategy:

• Can find "infinite apprentice guides"
• Primary bottleneck is finding people who can lead whole campuses
• Looking for leaders who can build communities and identity through meaningful work
• Operations problem rather than funding problem

Collaboration with Heather Clayton Staker

Family & Professional Synergy:

• Brother of Heather Clayton Staker, creating natural collaboration opportunities
• Recognizes alignment with Heather's Guide School development
• Shares similar educational philosophy and approach through both family connection and professional experience
• Both focused on sustainable, quality-driven growth
• Mutual interest in improved training and systems
• Family networking facilitating strategic introductions (like connecting Gary to Matt)

Educational Philosophy

Core Principles

Human-Centered Approach:

• "Design the school around the human inside of it, not around the technology"
• Technology serves as tool in students' hero's journey, not the primary outcome
• Believes STEM schools can feel sterile when technology becomes the focus
• "It's best to know yourself. Technology is a tool that they gathered along their hero's journey"

Faith and Learning Integration:

• Comfortable working across denominational lines
• Maintains focus on character development and spiritual formation
• Balances academic excellence with personal growth
• Creates environments for meaningful relationships and community

Trade School Interest

Alignment with Gary's Vision:

• Expressed strong interest in modern trade school concepts
• Supports learning material science, engineering foundations, and practical skills
• Believes in teaching "stuff that you and I wish we'd been learning when we were 13"
• Interested in addressing critical workforce shortages (electricians, welders, builders)

Strategic Insights

Market Opportunities

Funding Reality:

• Believes funding is available for quality educational innovations
• "Once we have that [operational capability], the funding's there"
• Sees operations and leadership as primary constraints, not capital
• Market ready for proven educational models

Scaling Philosophy:

• Strongly advocates for proving model before rapid expansion
• Warns against premature scaling without operational excellence
• Believes in building canonical examples before replication
• Contrasts with Alpha's ambitious but potentially unrealistic timeline goals

Collaboration Potential with Gary Sheng

Shared Values & Vision

Educational Innovation:

• Both committed to transforming education through quality, not just scale
• Shared interest in faith-based approaches to learning
• Mutual respect for taking time to build sustainable models
• Agreement on focusing on trade skills and practical education

Network Building:

• Gary identified as "connector" who can bring right people together
• Gary's network could provide guest speakers, funders, and strategic partnerships
• Potential collaboration on Utah-based trade school development
• Shared interest in working with Dr. Lael Alexander on educational initiatives

Potential Projects

Trade School Development:

• Interest in Gary's vision for "Cristo Futurist trade school in Utah"
• Alignment on middle school and up age range
• Shared belief in foundations of reality, practical skills, and character development
• Potential collaboration with Dr. Lael Alexander's advanced technical capabilities

Strategic Partnership Structure:

• Gary as connector and relationship builder
• Matt as operational leader and school developer
• Potential integration of Alpha learning tools where appropriate
• Focus on creating canonical example before scaling

Family & Personal

• Brother of Heather Clayton Staker (education innovator and founder of Guide School)
• Has daughter Eden (appeared during video call)
• Based in Utah with strong local community connections
• Active in LDS community while maintaining inter-denominational openness
• Values family integration in educational and professional decisions
• Benefits from family network in education innovation space

Communication Style & Preferences

• Direct and strategic in discussions
• Values long-form deep conversations (evidenced by 7-hour session with Joe)
• Appreciates collaborative problem-solving
• Focuses on practical implementation over theoretical discussion
• Comfortable with rapid decision-making when vision aligns

Key Quotes

• "You have to design the school around the around the human inside of it, not around the technology"
• "It's extremely great to know how metal works. It's better to know how the world works. And it's better to know yourself. It's best to know yourself."
• "I think we can afford perfect schools of 150 kids each. That's the goal."
• "Once we have that [operational capability], the funding's there."

Interaction History

• 2025-06-10: First meeting with Gary Sheng via introduction from his sister Heather Clayton Staker
  • Discussed educational philosophies and approach
  • Explored potential collaboration on trade school development
  • Aligned on quality-over-quantity scaling approach
  • Discussed relationship with Joe Lonsdale and investment opportunities
  • Identified Gary's role as connector and relationship builder
  • Planned future in-person meeting when Gary visits Utah

Next Steps & Potential Collaboration

• Gary planning trip to Utah to visit Matt's schools and explore partnership
• Potential introduction to Dr. Lael Alexander for trade school development
• Exploration of faith-based trade school model in Utah
• Collaboration on creating "canonical example" of innovative education
• Integration of respective networks and expertise for mutual benefit

Transcripts

Transcript ID	Date	Summary
2025-06-10-gary-sheng-matt-clayton-heather-staker-education-innovation-collaboration	2025-06-10	Gary Sheng, Matt Clayton, and Heather Clayton Staker - Education Innovation Collaboration Discussion