How can we prepare students for the “real world” when many of the future jobs they will tackle have yet to be created, and those that currently exist, already experience radical upheaval and elimination? The answer is to invite the public back into public education. As a rapidly changing world increases the need for authentic and contextualized education, embedding students in real businesses, nonprofits, government organizations, and coworking spaces with real world professionals and opportunities represents the preeminent method of preparing high school students.

Several months ago, Steve asked me about my decision to shelve KoalaPay, my mobile wallet and rewards app that leveraged Dwolla as a merchant-friendly payment solution. Years prior to KoalaPay I had been in retail with a few of my other companies, Naomi’s Kitchen (which is celebrating a decade this June) and Isaac’s Creamery (which I successfully exited last year). My best summation for why I failed is—wait for it—that KoalaPay had the wrong product/market fit. The writing on the wall was clear to me (and my personal pocketbook); it was time to move on.

A guest post by Troy Miller