Episode 2 with Daniel Sawko

Episode 2 of the "Joining the Dots" Podcast, with Matt Jessop and Al Kingsley, with guest Daniel Swako CEO and Founder of Shipshape Venture Capital. Shipshape.vc is a free investor search engine that enables you to search investors and investments by topics.

There were 3 major themes that weaved throughout our conversation:

The Need for Evolution in Education: This theme dominates much of the discussion. We all agree that the current education system is outdated and needs to evolve to better prepare students for a rapidly changing world.

The EdTech Investment Landscape: Dan provides valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities in the EdTech investment market. Key points include:

• Evidence-Based Investment - Investors prioritize solutions that demonstrate clear evidence of need, market validation, and potential for growth. 

• Regional Disparities: The conversation touches on the difficulties faced by startups outside major tech hubs and the role of regional funds in addressing this. 

• The Importance of the Team: Beyond the technology itself, the expertise and experience of the team behind an EdTech solution are crucial for attracting investment.

The Role of Innovation and Accountability: The tension between innovation and the need for accountability in education:

• Barriers to Innovation: The speakers discuss how accountability frameworks and limited budgets can stifle innovation in schools. 

• The Power of Validation: Daniel emphasises the importance of validating ideas and demonstrating market demand before seeking investment, a principle applicable to both entrepreneurs and educators. 

Long-Term Vision: The discussion highlights the need for long-term investment and a shift away from short-term political cycles to achieve meaningful educational reform. A few key Highlights

The Changing Landscape of Knowledge Acquisition: Daniel argues that the rise of technology, particularly large language models (LLMs), is democratising access to knowledge and enabling people to reach the "edge of human knowledge" sooner.

"The access to online large language models... is going to give rise to... a completely changed how much information and knowledge I'm able to consume on a daily basis. That's going to be filtering its way downstream as well in terms of earlier year groups."

"Whether or not we are going to start seeing more people able to sort of hit the edge of what's currently known and humanly possible sooner within their education or careers."

This underscores the potential for technology to revolutionise how we learn and access information, with implications for education and beyond.

The Value of Human Capital: Daniel stresses the importance of human skills like initiative, tenacity, and discipline, arguing that these are often undervalued in the current education system.

"Outside of technology roles, I couldn't give a hoot about whether someone went to university or not. It's about... the human skills because actually those matter far more now."

"That's something that our education system drives out of us. And you have to relearn it in many ways after you leave."

This highlights a crucial shift in the skills needed to thrive in the modern world, emphasising the importance of qualities that go beyond traditional academic measures.