17: Outside The System Labs #1: Unbundling Higher Education With Peter Conley of Unbundl.ed
Release Date: 02/15/2023
29: El Salvador, Bitcoin Circular Economy, and Entrepreneurship with Michael Ruiz
Outside The System
In this episode, I spoke with entrepreneur and writer Michael Ruiz. Michael has been a long-time Bitcoin proponent who raised concerns years ago about the lack of a Bitcoin circular economy and capture by large financial interests. When El Salvador made Bitcoin legal tender, Michael decided to visit and is now moving to the country while building multiple businesses. He shared this journey in detail during the episode. If you enjoy this episode, make sure you subscribe, leave a reivew, and send a boost on Fountain! Timestamps: (1:31) Michael's experience with El Salvador and what's...
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28: Crypto Confidential with Nat Eliason
Outside The System
In this episode, I spoke with my good friend (and podcast co-host at Made You Think!) Nat Eliason. His book Crypto Confidential is about his journey into the world of crypto and is one of the best narrative non-fiction books I've ever read. We discussed Nat's crypto experience, his journey as a writer, fiction vs non-fiction, health, and of course went on many tangents. If you enjoy this episode, make sure you subscribe, leave a review, and send a boost on Fountain! Timestamps (2:18) What motivated Nat to tell his crypto journey story in a raw way? (7:30) What Harry Potter...
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27: The Secret History of Lyme Disease and Biological Weapons with Kris Newby
Outside The System
In this episode, I spoke with Kris Newby, the author of Bitten: The Secret History of Lyme Disease and Biological Weapons. You may be skeptical about the premise of this book but I promise there is a lot more here than a baseless conspiracy theory. Kris has top tier technical credentials and spent a large chunk of her career at Stanford. Much of her book is based on primary research, which involved Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and interviews with individuals directly involved in the biological weapons program. Most importantly, her work shows that the tragedy of Lyme disease in...
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26: The Anthology of Balaji: Technology, Truth, Regulation, and More with Eric Jorgenson
Outside The System
In this episode of Outside The System, I spoke with Eric Jorgenson, an author and investor, whose latest book is The Anthology of Balaji, a collection of wisdom, ideas, and quotes from technologist Balaji Srinivasan. Balaji is an electrical and chemical engineer, investor (Andreesen Horowitz), and successful entrepreneur, notably in both biotech (Counsyl) and cryptocurrency (Earn.com), which led to him becoming Coinbase's first CTO (post-Earn.com acquisition). The Anthology of Balaji packs a huge punch on a wisdom per word basis and is well worth your time. If you enjoy this...
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25: Pee & See (Plus TV Shows, DJing, and More) with John Ganotis
Outside The System
In this episode, I spoke with my friend John Ganotis. John is the creator of a popular iPhone app called Pee & See (the number one number one app!) which helps users measure their hydration and health. John’s progression and journey as an independent creator is super inspiring to me. When he was in middle school, he created a YouTube esque show before YouTube was a thing, that somehow made it to TV. John is also a DJ and you can find links to his mixes in the show notes. If you enjoy this episode, make sure you subscribe, leave a review, and send a boost on Fountain! Timestamps (2:12) -...
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24: What Your Food Ate with David Montgomery and Anne Biklé
Outside The System
In this episode, I spoke with David Montgomery and Anne Biklé, the authors of What Your Food Ate: How to Heal the Land and Reclaim our Health. I don't mean this lightly - What Your Food Ate is the most impactful book I've read in a long time. The central premise is that the quality of your food is determined by what your food is eating. Plants get their nutrients from the sun, water, and soil. Animals get their nutrients primarily from the plants they're eating. Simple enough. But understanding this simple concept has completely changed how I think about things like organic produce, high...
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23: Value for Value Music with Joe Martin
Outside The System
In this episode, I spoke with Joe Martin, a musician from the UK who is pioneeering how artists can leverage value-for-value and Bitcoin to connect directly with fans and take power back from record labels and platforms like Spotify. Joe gets into the details of how value-for-value has worked for him, where the pain points are, what the response has been from fans, and a lot more. At one point, Joe compares being a value-for-value artist to being a street performer, which stuck in my head since this podcast is also supported by value-for-value on podcasting 2.0 apps like Fountain. If you...
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22: Layered Money with Nik Bhatia
Outside The System
Welcome back to Outside The System. Today’s episode is with Nik Bhatia, the founder of The Bitcoin Layer and the Author of Layered Money. We spent a good amount of time in this episode talking about the foundations of money, monetary hierarchies, historical money like gold, and where Bitcoin fits in. We also spoke about Nik’s opinions on self-custody, Bitcoin vs Ethereum and how Bitcoin’s fee structure compares to other forms of base layer money. Nik is also doing a lot of work around Bitcoin education including teaching at the university level so his insights there are fascinating. Make...
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21: Skin Health Myths and Truths with Athina Christacos of Feminrgy
Outside The System
In this episode of Outside The System, I spoke with Athina Christacos, founder of Feminrgy, a holistic skin health business. Athina and I worked together at The Estee Lauder Companies, one of the largest cosmetics companies in the world, where she was a cosmetic chemist. Using her background in biology and chemistry, Athina spent years trying to solve her own rosacea. This journey led her to dig deeper into the true cause of her skin problems and ultimately helped her create her inside-out approach to health and skincare. During our conversation, we got into: The major factors that...
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20: The Unconventional Real Estate Entrepreneur with Shiloe Bear of Creek Development
Outside The System
In this episode of Outside The System, I spoke with Shiloe Bear, Founder of Creek Development. Her firm specializes in developing science-related properties and she took a really unconventional path into real estate. She's done build outs for companies like Y Combinator, Lyft, Blue Bottle, and many others. Lots of inspiration here for anyone looking to learn about real estate and alternative paths. Her philosophy for her company and the broader community is also fascinating and worth learning from. This was Shiloe's first podcast and as you'll hear, she's a great communicator so I'm sure it...
info_outlineThis episode is the inaugural episode of Outside The System Labs, a new series about extremely early solutions and the people building them. In this episode, I spoke with Peter Conley, the founder of Unbundl.ed, which is a marketplace for buyers and sellers of higher education alternatives. They're working to unbundle the different elements of higher education (like coursework, network, social life, and more) so students can customize and create the education experience they're looking for.
It's a really interesting concept and would allow students to take advantage of online learning programs while also living and growing with peers in-person. Not being able to meet, interact, and make friends with peers has been one of my biggest criticisms of online-only programs and Peter is working to solve it.
Timestamps
(1:55) The current college bundle and what's wrong with it
(4:52) Who is actually the customer of higher education?
(6:35) Why haven't colleges adjusted to solve this problem?
(11:22) How high fixed costs and structures prevent colleges from being nimble in adjusting to new learning models
(14:23) Teachers are no longer constrained by geography in the internet era - you can learn from the best in the world
(14:37) Khan Academy as an example of one person being able to teach the world through the internet
(16:22) Conflating college with education
(23:55) Replicating the experiences of college and alumni networks with online education
(27:36) Peter's education path
(33:59) Creating artifacts and proof of your work to verify your skills publicly
(37:54) Lack of feedback loops in traditional education vs working in public
(38:27) How to increase your luck surface area
(46:11) What is Unbundl.ed and what the long-term vision is
Resources and Links
Origin story of Sal Khan of Khan Academy
Related episode: Outside The System with Mitch Earl of Praxis
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