Patrick Skinner - edu/acc

“The only limit is the speed at which we learn.”-@sama | @ns C1 | @gauntletai S25 Grad | Prev Ranger Medic | building for @alphaschoolatx

[Patrick Skinner - edu/acc @PSkinnerTech]

For those who are interested in working in EdTech, I need to be honest with you about what you're signing up for.

You probably shouldn't apply.

EdTech's graveyard is full of brilliant engineers. AltSchool raised $200M and closed. Knewton raised $180M and sold for scraps. 2,148 edtech startups in India shut down in the past five years.

They didn't fail because of a lack of technical skill. They failed from mission drift.

Here's what working in edtech actually means:

You're not building software. You're building a theory of how children learn. - @MitchForest

When you're 2 months into the same feature, and it still doesn't work, you won't have the dopamine hits of shipping fast. You'll need something deeper.

For the engineers who build learning apps for @AlphaSchoolATX, they are REQUIRED to spend 2 hours every day studying. Not coding. Studying and reading papers on cognitive load theory, motivation research, and translating learning science into applications.

Two hours. Every single day.

Engineers like @yiran__c write about the neuroscience of handwriting. @arpangup shares the Harada Method. @LamarDealMaker explores AI for skill development.

This isn't optional. It's the job.

Your success metrics will lie to you.

High DAUs don't mean kids are learning. Viral engagement doesn't mean mastery. The metrics that drive consumer tech success actively undermine educational outcomes.

The money will tempt you to build the wrong thing.

EdTech market: $400B by 2030. That capital creates pressure to optimize for pitch decks instead of classrooms. Byju's hit $22B before collapsing.

An MBA analyzes constraints. A builder changes reality.

What we require:
➡️ Mission Alignment
➡️ Agency
➡️ Strong Engineering Skills

If you're chasing market opportunity or building for your resume, don't apply.

But if you're a builder who sees broken systems and feels an overwhelming need to fix them? If you believe high standards create happy kids? If you want to change education for a billion children?

Before applying, read the link in the reply.

And if you're still interested after understanding what it really takes, let's talk about joining us in building the future of EdTech.

[Patrick Skinner - edu/acc @PSkinnerTech]

@discovernaya No email updates, website banners, or anything. Their Discord and GitHub have just turned into a ghost town for the last month.

If you're going to abandon it, you might as well open-source the repos and the hardware specs at this point.

[Patrick Skinner - edu/acc @PSkinnerTech]

I know hardware is very hard, but @discovernaya is easily one of the biggest disappointments I've ever encountered.

Not because the keyboards simply don't work, but because their communication and support for early adopters is nonexistent.

[Patrick Skinner - edu/acc @PSkinnerTech]

"We've removed the human in the loop..."

The engineering team 👇

[Abhishek B R @abhitwt]

Every company’s AI workflow rn be like 😭💀

[Patrick Skinner - edu/acc @PSkinnerTech]

As I often say, "excuse me, I'm not bald. I'm aerodynamic."

[Jason Levin @iamjasonlevin]

I don't know why you need this information, but these are the aerodynamics of Marc Andreessen

[Patrick Skinner - edu/acc @PSkinnerTech]

@rachelgoodlad Send over that pitch deck to the Superbuilders. We'll get that last remaining 30%. 💪

100% approved just based on those presentation hands, imho.

[Boardy @boardyai]

𝕏 is where the best unknown founders are at.

[K @kutluokan]

@PSkinnerTech @garrytan rookie numbers

[Patrick Skinner - edu/acc @PSkinnerTech]

@garrytan Wow, $1500??? That’s actually really low.

[Patrick Skinner - edu/acc @PSkinnerTech]

@hthieblot ihatethisclass
ebaumsworld

[Scott Stevenson @scottastevenson]

https://t.co/y6r96IrxWc

[Patrick Skinner - edu/acc @PSkinnerTech]

@Austen Too busy building to even post about it sometimes

[Patrick Skinner - edu/acc @PSkinnerTech]

Watching @nikitabier troll content slop reposters brings me so much joy.

[Nikita Bier @nikitabier]

@alphafox Breaking: Local man is upset that he is not famous after posting 6-year-old-videos to a news app

[@jason @Jason]

Stopping data centers is dumb.

… but we are a union of 50 states and each state — and cities and towns — have the right to control their destiny.

If New York wants to block data centers let them — Texas, Pennsylvania and Nevada will take the business, negotiate taxes and boom.

States are the ultimate A/B test

[Megan Gierka @MeganGierka]

the best AI engineers are ALWAYS reading & translating research 👇

[Patrick Skinner - edu/acc @PSkinnerTech]

This is of dire importance.

[MacKenzie Price @mackenzieprice]

Please don't tell a kid "some people just aren't good at public speaking." Some of our students gave TEDx talks this past weekend. They might not have taken the stage had someone reinforced an imaginary ceiling.

[Patrick Skinner - edu/acc @PSkinnerTech]

@DuragRebel I will never learn to golf for this reason, but the same goes for Jiu Jitsu.

[Patrick Skinner - edu/acc @PSkinnerTech]

@mattmireles Sorry for your loss! Seems like heaven gained a good one.

[Patrick Skinner - edu/acc @PSkinnerTech]

@Austen ... I want this...

[Patrick Skinner - edu/acc @PSkinnerTech]

This is actually savage

[Sam @futurenomics]

Anthropic’s last round was apparently a bloodbath behind the scenes. A GP at a prominent fund had dinner with Dario three times before their allocation was slashed to zero. At least four other tier-one funds got pulled at the last minute.

Their crime? Passing on the Series B, the hardest round Dario ever had to raise (led by Spark). In venture conviction is all that counts.

[Patrick Skinner - edu/acc @PSkinnerTech]

@beffjezos At least all the logos looked a lot less like buttholes.