Geoff Ralston (@gralston) is the founder of Imagine K12, an education-focused vertical within the super successful startup accelerator YCombinator. Collectively, Y Combinator and Imagine K12 have backed over 100 education technology startups. In addition to his work with YC, Geoff's a prolific angel investor, with over 80 portfolio companies and 18 exits to date. Prior to joining YC as a Partner, Geoff was the CEO of Lala Media, a music startup which was acquired by Apple for $80M in 2009. He also spent 9 years at Yahoo and was the Former Chief Product Officer a decade before the company became irrelevant. Subscribe on Apple Podcast | Google Podcast | Android | Overcast | Spotify | Youtube You can listen right here on iTunes In our wide-ranging conversation, we cover many things, including: * The major problems with America's education system * How startups and YC are working to redesign education * Is college still necessary? * How venture capitalists can make outsized differences in the world * Why education and healthcare as so expensive and slow to adapt * What angel investors need to know to avoid losing money * How Geoff thinks about industries and investment philosophies * Why Geoff started an edtech accelerator and merged with YCombinator * The reason Geoff is incredibly optimistic about biotech and AI * The ethical issues of education and access and how we can fix them * Why education NEEDS to be personalized * How to hone your craft and becoming worldclass * Which industries Geoff is most excited about -- Make a Tax-Deductible Donation to Support FringeFM FringeFM is supported by the generosity of its readers and listeners. If you find our work valuable, please consider supporting us on Patreon, via Paypal or with DonorBox powered by Stripe. Donate