Thoughts on learning

As a parent of a gifted child, I’ve witnessed how my son struggles with boredom and emotional intensity. Conversations with other parents suggest this is a widespread challenge among the 7 million gifted children across Europe and the US.

I want to build an AI-powered learning game designed specifically for gifted children. What makes it unique? It leverages the design principles of successful video games and allows children to learn by solving complex real-world challenges about topics that fascinate them—the universe, origins of life, human history.

Unlike their experience in schools, children are in control of their learning – they can choose the direction (the themes) and the level of complexity.
When executed well, this unlocks deep, intrinsic motivation to learn – which all young children have and most older children tend to lose.

My background: I am an educator, serial entrepreneur, and father of two children. Since graduating from the University of Oxford more than 20 years ago, I have started a social investment fund, a bilingual school, and an innovative professional development program that helps teachers improve their practice through small action steps (LinkedIn).

I am looking for a co-founder who has strong engineering skills (AI / machine learning and/or game development; can prototype and ship front-end and back-end, can architect scalable systems, knows what’s feasible), wants to make a big positive impact on the world, loves learning and has a good sense of humour. And who is ideally based in the Netherlands (I live in Nijmegen).

If that’s you, I’d love to chat.

Here are a few pictures to illustrate the journey I’ve been on:

I studied at the University of Oxford. I had a partial scholarship and some generous supporters, but I largely self-funded my studies. It took me another 10 years after graduation to pay off this debt.

I did think about consulting and investment banking, but instead, I set up a social impact fund at the age of 22 and was the CEO for the first six years. To date, it has supported over 100 non-profits and social enterprises in Estonia.

Working at Teach For All was a life-changing experience for me. It took me to some amazing classrooms, including this one in India. I worked together with an exceptional team, some of the best teachers and leaders from around the world.

I spend most of my free time with my wife and kids. Playing games, hiking, going to the zoo, cycling…