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Summary of Conversation: Gary Sheng and Alexander Family (June 2, 2025)

This document summarizes an extensive conversation between Gary Sheng and the Alexander family at their home in Jenks, Oklahoma. The discussion covered business capabilities, educational opportunities, technology projects, and potential collaborations, while also providing intimate insights into the Alexander family dynamics.

1. Business Capabilities and Project Scope​

Gary explored the full scope of Lael and Josh's manufacturing and design capabilities, discovering their remarkable versatility.

Universal Problem-Solving Approach​

  • Josh's Assessment: "(We) haven't really come up with, I haven't really had any things where something came up where like, no, we just can't do that. That's not doable. I mean, if somebody's like, hey, I want this, then that's what they get."
  • Range of Projects: From "a tube of toothpaste to a little mod series race car" - essentially unlimited scope with proper funding
  • Meta Design Process: Josh described Lael as having "a meta design process for creating anything, basically" where "he'll design something. He'll do most of the engineering on it. And then he'll bring in a team like, okay, let's make this work."

Business Model and Pricing​

  • Minimum Engagement: "$250K" consulting fee to begin any project - covers feasibility studies, cost assessments, engineering plans, and IP transfer
  • Lael's Explanation: "That's what gets you engaged... a lot of times the customer doesn't, they don't know... So you still have to do the feasibility. You have to build them a cost assessment."
  • Full Project Scope: After initial consulting, projects can range from "$2 million" to "$6 million" depending on complexity

Systemic Challenges in the Market​

Josh revealed patterns of dysfunction in how projects typically reach them:

  • Late-Stage Desperation: "By the time they get to us, they've spent all of their funds... they've already spent like 80% of their budget"
  • Investor Mismanagement: Multiple examples of investors funding incompetent intermediaries who waste money before reaching capable manufacturers
  • Government Contract Issues: Lost COVID mask contracts to politically connected but incompetent vendors, despite having actual manufacturing capabilities

2. Educational Technology and China Opportunities​

Gary discussed significant opportunities for collaboration with Asian markets, particularly China.

Current Restrictions and Possibilities​

  • Josh's Assessment: Education technology would "probably be fine" with China, unlike more sensitive technologies
  • Lael's Experience: Previously built China's entire internet ecosystem (Beidou) but notes "our government has a problem with me for that"
  • Gary's Opportunity: Through Asian business development team, access to contracts in "China, in South Korea, in Japan" for educational technology

Educational Philosophy and Approach​

Lael outlined his revolutionary approach to technical education:

  • Trade Skills First: "The core of that entire deal is to get people to have trade skills first and then we backtrack with the science. Because now you actually have the ability to do something."
  • AI Integration: Focus on teaching skilled technicians "prompting ability" to work with AI systems
  • Certification Focus: National certifications in plumbing, electrical, HVAC, industrial maintenance, power generation
  • Future-Proofing: "The skilled tech is going to still be there" even as AI replaces trained professionals

3. Advanced Technology Projects​

Lael demonstrated several cutting-edge projects currently in development.

Quantum Diagnostic Technology​

Lael showed Gary a revolutionary air analysis system:

  • Breath Analysis: System can provide "a fingerprint. Like a unique fingerprint from your exhaling of like just your human emissions"
  • Medical Diagnostics: "Diagnostic capabilities of air, like if you're sick and stuff like that, it gets deep"
  • Patents and Testing: "13 patents to go ahead and that's what I'm putting together... these are running the test at Bell Labs"
  • Technical Scope: Includes "Quantum state tomography," "QST test," and spectral analysis capabilities

Current Revenue Projects​

  • Grocery Store Refrigeration: Major project "supplying all the refrigeration equipment for a grocery store" that could "open some doors"
  • Manufacturing Contracts: Recent conversation with NBA player Malik Mulk and Silicon Valley investors for concert merchandise production requiring "three factories"

4. Gary's Alpha Schools Experience and Lessons​

Gary provided candid assessment of his work with Joe Liemandt and Alpha Schools, revealing significant organizational dysfunction.

Team Quality Issues​

  • Gary's Blunt Assessment: "The average quality of the team is quite low... trying to—and this is what I started to talk about with you, but then I had other questions. The average quality of the average team member is just like a 9-to-5-er that truly is not very capable or cares."
  • Corporate Environment Problems: "It's a corporate environment that—I don't know. It just needs to be fully dogged."
  • Moving Too Fast: "I feel like I've been moving too fast for the team. Some people internally feel like I'm stepping on their toes."

Ethical Concerns​

Gary expressed deep concerns about Alpha's marketing versus reality:

  • Viral Marketing vs. Reality: "Their marketing videos are going viral in China on WeChat. And in the U.S. too. But their reality is not meeting the marketing."
  • Ethical Issues: "I feel deep ethical concerns about them being memetically synonymous with the future of education when you should be."

Joe Liemandt's Leadership Style​

  • Control Without Engagement: Gary described Joe as wanting "control" but lacking "bandwidth" for operational details
  • FOMO-Driven: "Joe operates on FOMO. He dumped in—I want to say—I don't know how much he dumped in compared to other investors. I think he dumped in something like $50 million in, like, a Fortnite—like the original Fortnite team to build some education game."
  • Resistance to Collaboration: "He certainly doesn't operate on a desire to cooperate and delegate, like, control and ownership to people that have deep capability"

5. Trump Administration Connections and Opportunities​

The conversation revealed significant potential for high-level government engagement.

Lael's Previous Trump Experience​

  • Mar-a-Lago Meeting: "When Trump got me—flew me into Mar-a-Lago and—he loved me, but he didn't really see any use for the people that brought me."
  • Truth Social Development: "When he created Truth Social and Trump Media Group. I'm the one that built it. I built the backend. Handed it over. Gave me $140,000. That was it."
  • Gatekeeper Issues: Problems with Mike Lindell ("my pillow") and "slimy guys from Texas" preventing further collaboration

Future Administration Strategy​

Gary outlined approach for re-engaging with Trump administration:

  • Direct Access Strategy: Lael's confidence: "If I'm in a room with him, he's going to come to me. Or I'm going to, or we're going to lock eyes and he's going to wave me in."
  • Trump as "Ultimate Manifester": Gary's insight that ideas need to appear to come from Trump himself
  • 250th Anniversary Opportunity: Gary noted complete lack of planning for America's 250th anniversary celebration, presenting major opportunity

6. US-China Collaboration Vision​

Gary presented his vision for transformative international cooperation.

Charter Cities Concept​

  • Shared Ownership Model: "Build charter cities that are co-owned by the American and Chinese people where everyone has a fractional ownership of it. Every citizen."
  • Crypto-Enabled: "That's now trivial with the technology of crypto"
  • Co-Ambition Framework: Redirecting competition into collaboration through joint projects

Historical Precedent​

Lael provided crucial historical context:

  • Previous Success: "Co-ambition is what fueled Xi Jinping and China's first Mao. So before they had America as a customer, China was in pretty dire straits."
  • Proven Model: The US-China manufacturing relationship as precedent for larger collaboration

7. Family Dynamics and Personal Insights​

The conversation provided intimate glimpses into the Alexander family life.

Culinary Talents​

  • Ashleigh's Cooking: Demonstrated exceptional skill with Japanese and Chinese cuisine, including steamed buns, sushi bake, and fusion dishes
  • Family Appreciation: Lael's pride in his children's diverse talents across cooking, art, and music

Andre's Musical Journey​

  • Self-Taught Musician: Learning guitar and bass after buying guitar as "first big purchase I ever made with my own money"
  • Artistic Background: Diverse interests including "theater all through high school," painting, and fashion design
  • Educational Regret: Left choir in fifth grade due to bad teacher, acknowledging "That's, like, my favorite flaw. I regret that decision."

Educational Philosophy for Children​

  • Lael's Approach: If his children "were alphas, we would be killing you" - recognizing they work "in their own time" and "don't want the help"
  • Individual Timing: Understanding that talent develops on individual schedules

8. Strategic Vision for Scaling​

The conversation concluded with discussion of how to scale Lael's unique capabilities.

Guild/Apprenticeship Model​

  • Gary's Vision: "It's a guild. It's a new it's a new Freemason essentially that needs to be created with different levels of specialization"
  • Capacity Building: Creating "more and more people that even if it requires five people to fill a role of Lyle in the project that's fine"
  • Educational Integration: Using real projects to train next generation of comprehensive builders

Business Development Partnership​

Gary positioned himself as crucial for business development:

  • Filtering Function: "My job... I need to know only as much as I need to know about the periodic table... I just need to be in the room and FaceTime you in, right? And then just honestly assess character."
  • Character Assessment: High standards for collaboration partners, especially faith-based criteria
  • Deal Size Focus: Understanding minimum viable projects and proper qualification processes

Concluding Themes​

This extensive conversation revealed the Alexander family as possessing unprecedented technical capabilities while facing the common challenge of business development and scaling. Gary's role emerged as crucial bridge-builder between Lael's technical genius and the larger opportunities in education, government, and international cooperation. The discussion established foundation for significant collaborations in educational technology, charter cities, and potentially transformative US-China cooperation projects.

The intimate family setting provided context for understanding how exceptional capability develops and operates within supportive family structures, while also highlighting the universal challenge of translating individual genius into scalable systems that can benefit humanity more broadly.