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Metadata

ID:
2025-04-10-jason-applebaum-doug-green-meeting
Participants:

Meeting Summary

Overview​

Gary Sheng met with Jason Applebaum (involved in Alpha marketing/recruitment) and Douglas Green (Head of AlphaX) to discuss scaling Alpha School, student recruitment strategies, media initiatives like the proposed "Alpha High" reality show, and Joe Liemandt's ambitious vision.

Key Topics Discussed​

High School Recruitment Strategy (Jason Applebaum)​

  • Challenge: Current parent-focused recruitment may be less effective for high schoolers.
  • Hypothesis: High school students need to be the primary drivers of their decision to attend Alpha; peer-to-peer engagement is key.
  • Proposed Solution: Explore student-led school tours/visits instead of relying solely on bringing parents in.
  • External Agency: Jason works with a social media agency, which is visiting schools soon; wants them to consider a differentiated approach for high school outreach.

Scaling Alpha & Joe's Vision (Gary Sheng & All)​

  • Joe's Goal: Reiterated Joe tells students the goal is 2.5 billion learners in the Alpha ecosystem (vs. 1 billion told to others). Gary framed this as aspirational and necessary maximalist thinking.
  • Acquisition Pace: Joe's timeline for acquiring schools is accelerating (1000 schools in 5 years, potentially 1000 by end of summer 2025).
  • Need for Scale: To reach these goals, Alpha needs massive cultural penetration.

Media Initiatives for Scale​

  • Alpha High Reality Show: Gary pitched the concept again as a powerful tool for cultural influence, driving awareness and demand more effectively than traditional marketing. The goal is for viewers (parents, students) to feel the Alpha experience and come to their own conclusions.
  • Linear TV Concept: Idea floated (by John Alznauer previously, mentioned by Gary) of a 24/7 Alpha-focused content stream as an alternative to news channels for demographics like grandparents.
  • Micro-Content Strategy: Need to leverage existing content (Mackenzie's talks, student stories) and create new content (reality show, internal AI tools) for widespread distribution.

Specific Projects & Collaborations​

  • Sperm Racing Project: Douglas Green mentioned an intern working on a project using sperm racing and biomarkers for fertility, advised by Gary Rabinovitz (former History Channel Media Director).
  • Intern Management: Douglas discussed the process of evaluating intern performance (referencing Edda).

Action Items / Takeaways​

  • Jason Applebaum to explore student-led tour models for high school recruitment.
  • Continued development of large-scale media strategies (Reality Show, Linear TV concept) needed to match Joe's ambition.
  • Need for alignment between internal initiatives (like the reality show) and external resources (social media agency Jason works with).
  • Acknowledge the different messaging Joe uses for different audiences (1B vs 2.5B students).