I have moved!

to:
www.harshmusings.tumblr.com

and

www.twitter.com/harshjshah

So you wanna beat the market? (prepost)

the view from KKR New York.

from fred wilson's flickr.

Does paying teachers $125K plus (25K) bonus make a difference?

I just caught this article on NYTimes.com. It is the most emailed article at the NYTimes website at the moment.

To summarize it: A new charter school is opening in NYC and is trying to address a question that has always plagued my mind. To give some context to my thoughts on the topic, let me explain.

At UCLA when I ask some of my friends what they are interested in pursuing as a career, they generally respond with a typical white-collar career.
"I'm thinking about law school."
"I've already started studying for the MCATs."
"BCG looks like a pretty sweet gig."

One in every five adds this at the end of their response: "...but teaching is my backup."
When I ask them to elaborate, they sometimes confess to me that teaching is something they have always been interested in, but the compensation won't support the lifestyle they have in mind.

A quote comes to mind. This one is from the Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffet.
" A few months ago I was talking to another MBA student, a very talented man, about 30 years old from a great school with a great resume. I asked him what he wanted to do for his career, and he replied that he wanted to go into a particular field, but thought he should work for McKinsey for a few years first to add to his resume. To me that's like saving sex for your old age. It makes no sense."

Enter "The Equity Project." TEP is a new charter school system in NYC that is going to pay teachers a $125K Base + potential $25K Bonus salary. The idea behind it is that teaching is what makes the greatest difference in measurable success for schools. It will begin with 480 students that have come from low-income backgrounds. The school will initially rollout with 5th-8th grade. All students will take Latin and Music. TEP has supposedly been overwhelmed with applications to become a teacher at the school. There are very rigorous established guidelines set for applicants. One is 90%+ percentile score on a standardized test like the LSAT or GRE. Finally, the principal starts with a salary of $90K.

TEP is the brainchild of Zeke Vanderhoek. Zeke spent three years with Teach for America after graduating from Yale. To supplement his income he started Manhattan GMAT. The test prep group that pays its instructors $100/HR. Supposedly the highest GMAT instructor pay in the industry.

Maybe my fellow students will think twice the next time the thought of becoming a teacher occurs to them. I'm very excited to see what happens with TEP.

The project has the potential to disrupt the education market, and revolutionize the teaching profession. And it is social entrepreneurs like Zeke that can make it happen.

Time Stops @ Grand Central Station, NYC

A flash mob of people head to Grand Central to pull off a great stunt.

A PE White Knight for Yahoo?

It seems pretty doubtful that PE firms would consider a buyout in this debt market. As the Prez of THLee said "In 2009 I will tell my LPs that we did no deals last year, and they will applaud."

MSFT has very deep pockets.

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Now playing: Antonio Carlos Jobim - Amor Em Paz
via FoxyTunes

The $44.6 BN Elephant in the room.

MSFT/YHOO

• Deal should go through. Neither can afford not to do it.
• Does it matter? Is Google already too dominant?
• What will the new name be?
• Where will the new synergies come from?
  

Obama 2008. Feb 5th. Let's do this.

In a previous what's hot/what's not post, I mentioned Merlot on the "what's not" list.

I was wrong. Saint Emilion, in Bordeaux had a fantastic 2005. Grab the vintage from the region while you can.

I'll explain more about this when I get back from my Central America-20-day-backpacking-trip.

One of my favorite commercials from this year.