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Fix The Education, Fix The World
To investors, Today I am announcing that I have led a $5 million Series A investment in Synthesis, which is the education spin-out from the school that Elon Musk custom built for his own children. If you remember, I previously led the seed round of the company about two and a half months ago. Here is what I wrote about the business at the time: “The traditional school system teaches our children rote memorization and measures success based on end of year test results. This is not the best way to prepare young children for the real world. The system leaves children lacking critical thinking skills, along with problem solving, independent thought, creativity, and teamwork experience. Elon Musk realized this years ago and decided to build a school on the SpaceX campus for his own children. Musk partnered with Josh Dahn to create Ad Astra, which became the educational experience that he believed would be best for the children that he wanted to raise. Ad Astra (now known as Astra Nova) uses simulations, case studies, fabrication and design projects, labs, and corporate collaboratives to develop students that are enthralled by complexity and solving for the unknown. The only problem is that the Astra Nova experience was only available to a select few families who could get into the program. But Josh Dahn, the co-creator of Astra Nova, wanted to bring this game-changing educational program to the masses. Enter Synthesis. Josh Dahn has teamed up with Chrisman Frank, an early employee at ClassDojo, to create a software based solution that puts children ages 7-14 through the one-of-a-kind program. These children are taught critical thinking, problem solving, leadership, creativity, independent thought, and teamwork. Simply, Synthesis prepares children for the real world in a way that the traditional education system does not.” At the time of the seed round, Synthesis had gone from $0 to $1 million in annualized recurring revenue in approximately 3 months. Fast forward to today and the company is now doing more than $3 million in annualized recurring revenue. So why are thousands of parents signing their children up for this enhanced educational experience? Easy…it actually works. The lack of critical thinking and problem solving skills being taught in our education system should be a national emergency. Rather than complain about it, the team at Synthesis is doing something about it. Josh and Chrisman have put together an incredible team, including former teachers like Ana Lorena Fabrega and others. If you want your child to be more proficient and better prepared for the real world, you should consider signing up here: https://www.synthesis.is/ The company has been growing incredibly fast. They have seen 50% monthly compounded growth since the start of November and are now doing over $3 million in annual run rate. More than 85% of all students stay in the program after 90 days. I’m joined in this round by a list of other incredible investors, including Sahil Lavingia, Bobby Goodlatte, Shane Parrish, Austin Rief, Polina Pompliano, Brianne Kimmel, Julian Shapiro, Steven Galanis, Kat Cole, Sam Parr, Zac Prince, Ryan Denehy, Shaan Puri, Andrew Wilkinson, Melanie Shapiro, Ryan Shea, Matt James, Matteo Franceschetti, Jack Butcher, Matthew Delladova, Jeff Richards, Andrew Spellman, Jayni Shah, John Danner, and Alan Rutledge. We have assembled an incredible team of operators and investors with one simple mission — educate your child with the problem solving and critical thinking skills that will prepare them for success in life. If that sounds compelling to you, you really should consider giving it a try. Sign up your child for Synthesis: https://www.synthesis.is/ The world deserves to have a society filled with innovators, entrepreneurs, and creatives. Help us, help your child. Have a great day and I’ll talk to everyone tomorrow. -Pomp This installment of The Pomp Letter is free for everyone. I send this email to our investors daily. If you would also like to receive it every morning, join the 160,000 other investors today. THE RUNDOWN:Coinbase Boosts Compensation, Will No Longer Negotiate During Hiring: In a series of changes affecting compensation and incentives at the cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase said it’s eliminating negotiations on salary and equity from its recruiting process. In a blog post, Coinbase also said it's increased cash and equity compensation – from the 50th percentile amongst the company's peers to the 75th – across the entire firm. Read more. Ark Investment’s Cathie Wood Joins Board of 21Shares Parent: Ark Investment Management CEO Cathie Wood has joined the board of cryptocurrency platform Amun Holdings, the parent company of 21Shares, which specializes in exchange-traded products. Wood announced Monday she has joined Amun’s board after personally investing in the operator of 21Shares AG, according to a Bloomberg report. She met the Amun team at a conference in 2019. Read more. Cboe Kicks Fidelity-Linked Bitcoin ETF Application to SEC: Another would-be bitcoin exchange-traded fund has taken a step toward regulatory review. Cboe BZX Exchange has filed a 19b-4 form, acknowledging its support of Wise Origin’s bitcoin ETF application and kicking the process to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Wise Origin, a fund affiliated with investment giant Fidelity, first filed for the ETF with the SEC in March. However, the SEC needs an exchange partner like Cboe or NYSE Arca to file a corresponding 19b-4 form before it will begin considering the application. Read more. Sean Culkin, Latest NFL Player to Announce Bitcoin Salary, Cut From Chiefs: Sean Culkin, the NFL tight end who made headlines last month by planning to convert all of his salary to bitcoin, has been cut from the Kansas City Chiefs, a team spokesman confirmed to CoinDesk. Culkin was seeking to one-up Russell Okung, the NFL offensive tackle who started converting half his salary into bitcoin starting late last year. That said, Okung’s contract was for $13 million; Culkin’s was set for $920,000. Read more. Babel Finance Raises $40M From Zoo Capital, Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global: Three years after its inception, crypto financial service provider Babel Finance is racking up fundings and partnerships from major institutional investors. The startup said Monday that it has closed a $40 million Series A round, with lead investors including Zoo Capital, Sequoia Capital China, Dragonfly Capital, Bertelsmann and its Asian fund BAI Capital, and Tiger Global Management. Read more. LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE OF THE POMP PODCAST HERE Chrisman Frank is the co-founder and CEO of Synthesis, a new educational experience for children aged 8-14 that focuses on teaching problem solving and critical thinking skills. In this conversation, Chrisman and I discuss: Industrial education complex Why students are suffering How teachers fit into the system Why the old model doesn’t work How Synthesis works The current traction of the business What parents are saying I really enjoyed this conversation with Chrisman. Hopefully you enjoy it too. LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE OF THE POMP PODCAST HERE Podcast SponsorsThese companies make the podcast possible, so go check them out and thank them for their support! Exodus is an absolute game changer in the crypto wallet space. With over 100 assets supported, one-click built-in exchange, Trezor hardware wallet integration and 24/7 customer support, this is a no brainer for both newcomers and crypto heavyweights. Download Exodus on desktop, iOS, and Android using my code http://get.exodus.com/pomp Cosmos is building the Internet of Blockchains, marking a new era of interoperability, scalability, and usability. The free flow of assets and data between blockchains with bridges to Ethereum and Bitcoin will unleash the potential of DeFi, NFTs, and much more. Dive into Cosmos at cosmos.network/pomp OKEx is a leading crypto exchange known for providing the most options for crypto traders and investors. Whether you want to trade spot, futures, options or swaps, OKEx gives you institutional-grade tools and a best-in-class trading engine. 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To start earning today visit: http://www.blockfi.com/Pomp Crypto.com allows you to buy, sell, store, earn, loan, and invest various cryptocurrencies in an user friendly mobile app. Join over one million users today. You can download and earn $50 USD with my code “pomp2020” when you sign up for one of their metal cards today. Public Rec is where indoor comfort meets outdoor style. Their best-selling All Day Every Day Pant is a more stylish alternative to sweatpants, and a more comfortable alternative to jeans. From the couch to the gym to the grocery store, and everywhere in between, Public Rec has you covered. Comfort starts with a better fit. Free shipping. Free returns. Visit www.publicrec.com/pomp and use POMP at checkout to get 10% off. Circle is a global financial technology firm that enables businesses of all sizes to harness the power of stablecoins and public blockchains for payments, commerce and financial applications worldwide. Circle is also a principal developer of USD Coin (USDC), the fastest growing, fully reserved and regulated dollar stablecoin in the world. The free Circle Account and suite of platform API services bridge the gap between traditional payments and crypto for trading, DeFi, and NFT marketplaces. Create seamless, user-friendly, mainstream customer experiences with crypto-native infrastructure under the hood with Circle. Learn more at circle.com. Gemini is a leading regulated cryptocurrency exchange, wallet, and custodian that makes it simple and secure to buy bitcoin, ether, and over 30 other cryptocurrencies. Offering industry-leading security, insurance and uptime, Gemini is the go-to trusted platform for beginner and sophisticated investors alike. Open a free account in under 3 minutes at gemini.com/pomp and get $20 of bitcoin after you trade $100 or more within 30 days. Revolut is a finance app in the US and UK, that say they're the simplest way to access crypto. Sign up today at Revolut.com/pomp and make 3 card transactions to get $15, which you can exchange for any tokens Revolut supports. As usual, when you move your money from fiat to crypto your capital is at risk. See T&C's for details. Revolut is a financial technology company. Banking services provided by Metropolitan Commercial Bank, Member FDIC. Cryptocurrency services provided directly by Paxos Trust Company, LLC. Did you know nearly 338 million dollars worth of NFTs were sent last year? And in 2021 that number is growing faster than ever. Looking to make your first NFT? Check out NEAR’s fast, scalable, low-cost, open-source platform. Learn why NEAR is the infrastructure for innovation at near.org You are receiving The Pomp Letter because you either signed up or you attended one of the events that I spoke at. Feel free to unsubscribe if you aren’t finding this valuable. Nothing in this email is intended to serve as financial advice. Do your own research. 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