Here’s a Softball: Why Is Education Innovation More Likely to Happen in a Startup Context Than Within the Bureaucracy of Public Education?

The keyword here is agility. Though stability and bureaucracy have their place in large systems, like public education, we often see that educators end up feeling that they need permission to innovate. There is a sense of rigidity, that new ideas shouldn’t go against the grain. Sometimes this is for good reason; after all, the last thing we want to do is irresponsibly experiment on millions of school children. However, without ever taking calculated risks or pushing the envelope, we’ll never get to the next level. I believe this is the value of The Lean Lab. We offer a safe place, removed just enough from traditional school systems so that educators can begin to think big, create and innovate in new, more agile ways. Our partnership with the Sprint Accelerator (where we office) is also crucial. As soon as educators step into a tech accelerator space, their mindset begins to shift. They literally begin thinking bigger–beyond the walls of their classrooms.

What’s the Process Look Like for Someone Who Has Identified a Problem and a Potential Solution?

If they are at a nascent idea stage, there’s multiple ways they can plug into the community. We host monthly happy hours and ongoing events, like Startup Weekend EDU, to lower the barrier of entry for those who might have an early stage idea, but aren’t sure if they’re ready to commit to a full incubator and launch program. For those ready to take the plunge, we have a formal application process for our Lean Lab 101 program, which is a 4.5 week accelerator program occurring in the summer. Applications for our 2015 cohort will open in early spring. After the 4.5 week program, fellows with the most viable ventures can re-apply or are invited into our Lean Lab 201 program, where we support fellows as they pilot and ultimately launch their ventures. Also, Carrie (my co-founder) and I are always up for impromptu brainstorm sessions over a cup of coffee or a beer.

How Have Others Stepped in to Support Your Mission?

Gosh, we are eternally indebted and grateful to so many who have lent their support. We rely significantly on in-kind donations, such as office space, design work and printing. The team at the Sprint Accelerator is all around awesome. Beyond providing a beautiful workspace, they’re a great resource to the entrepreneurial community. Our board members Mozilla Gigabit Fund, Kauffman Foundation, Grand Arts, MK12, VML, Alta Vista Charter School and countless individuals have all stepped up to donate resources, as well as their time and skillsets.

Additionally, a big part of our programming is the mentorship piece. We really try to expose our fellows to a diverse range of skillsets–from finance to marketing to product design to analytics. In this vein, we always have volunteer mentorship opportunities available where professionals can loan their expertise and guidance to our fellows.

As an aside, one of the most fun and unique parts of this process has been receiving support from such a dynamic and diverse range of folks–it’s not every education non-profit that can say they regularly partner with a tech accelerator, an animation studio, a public school, a finance firm, an art gallery and a foundation. We really do treasure this unique sense of community we’ve begun to cultivate.

What’s Been the Biggest Learning Curve for You the Past Year?

Ultimately, we’re a startup helping other startups, which has its own sense of irony. Our biggest learning curve, if I’m being honest, has been learning how to secure funding while providing quality programming. The non-profit field is already a competitive and risk averse space, and we’re entering the landscape as a brand new non-profit, run by two young women who are positing wild new approaches to public education. However, I believe that these obstacles will ultimately be surpassed by the outcomes we produce. In this vein, we’ve learned to be absolutely persistent. We just keep doing our very best to consistently produce quality programming and to support our innovative educators, no matter what.

What Is Your Latest Epiphany?

In the wake of the non-indictments coming from the Eric Garner and Mike Brown cases, I have been revisiting one of my all time favorite writers James Baldwin. He has this seminal speech, which takes place in South Africa after the Detroit Riots of 1964, and he says, “it’s not a racial problem. It’s a problem of whether or not you’re willing to look at your life and be responsible for it, and then begin to change it.” Throughout the speech, he argues that race is a construct of white society. His thesis is that the problem isn’t racism alone, but our unwillingness as a society to take responsibility for the creation of this false construct and an unwillingness to change.

I re-watched the speech the morning after the Eric Garner non-indictment was released, and this line has been playing over and over in my mind ever since.