Part 1: Matt Beaudreau: Don’t like what’s on offer? Build the alternative.

On this episode, Kevin chats with Matt Beaudreau, co-founder of Apogee Strong, about disrupting education to reseed sovereignty and freedom. Matt founded his first school in California in 2017 and co-founded Apogee Strong with partner Tim Kennedy in 2021, going on to create mentorship programs for men, women, and teens, help launch over 100 K-12 campuses, and establish 2 non-profit foundations supporting families in expanding their education. The conversation explores the concept of sovereignty and self-governance, what education is versus what it could and should be, and how public schooling functions as a form of indoctrination. Matt discusses his unexpected journey into education, the foundational skills necessary for effective learning, and the business model of running physical schools—or as he prefers, "places of leadership." They cover the financial aspects of education compared to free public schooling, the critical lack of critical thinking skills in current frameworks, why teaching the same subjects to all students simultaneously is absurd, and how Apogee students and universities view each other. Matt positions Apogee as an investment in the human spirit and our innate desire for growth, while addressing the challenge of enrolling parents without losing the school's core mission.