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Blockstack + Lambda School: Bringing Apps that ‘Can’t Be Evil’ to the Global Classroom

February 10, 2020: The App Mining pilot has been paused while we work with the community on the next phase of the program. → Learn More

Today, Blockstack PBC is announcing a partnership with Lambda School to accelerate students building software applications that ‘Can’t Be Evil’ by design.

As part of the partnership, Lambda School will be working closely with Blockstack PBC to feature educational material and active learning sessions for students, which will prepare them to build apps using Blockstack’s open source developer tools and network. These apps focus on security, privacy, and data ownership through the use of Blockstack’s decentralized domain name system, encrypted private cloud storage, and applied cryptography.

While learning to build these apps, students will also enter Blockstack’s App Mining program where they’ll earn recurring monthly payments according to their app’s monthly rank. App Mining, a mechanism which currently pays $200,000 USD per month (and is expected to grow to $1,000,000 per month) to application developers according to rank, also provides helpful data to the students about their app, including UI/UX feedback, market awareness data, and more.

We have learned that coding bootcamps have traditionally been too short, expensive, and location dependent to disrupt a system that has created a whopping $1.4T in student loan debt. In the old world, talent who could not pay upfront or qualify to borrow money usually did not get a chance to learn. Lambda School artfully solves the equation with its unique Income Share Agreement and remote learning model. Combined with Blockstack’s App Mining program, our partnership will allow students to learn new skills while earning recurring revenue during their many months of coursework and beyond.

Lambda School also has an earnest commitment to finding and empowering underrepresented talent and providing ongoing career support. This aligns with Blockstack’s spirit of building a global community committed to responsible coding, inalienable digital rights, and user-centricity.

“We are opening a pathway for students to have hands-on experience with the newest, cutting-edge technology, while also providing real-world feedback and flexible capital,” said Muneeb Ali, CEO of Blockstack PBC. “This is the sort of program I wish was available to me when I was a young student, and I have no doubt the lessons learned here will help Lambda School students excel as they enter their new careers and even start new companies.”

Founded in 2017, Lambda School is a unique model of higher education in which the school invests in its students, instead of the other way around. Lambda School is a premier skills-based online school that gives students a path to a better career and higher income at no cost until they’re hired. The school is headquartered in San Francisco, while students attend remotely. The academy has raised funds previously from investors including Y Combinator and Tandem Capital.

We look forward to investing in the intellectually curious community of Lambda School students who believe in a new decentralized computing model underpinned by unbreakable, fundamental digital rights.

 


Important disclaimer

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has qualified the offering statement that we have filed with the SEC. The information in that offering statement is more complete than the information we are providing now, and could differ in important ways. You must read the documents filed with the SEC before investing. The offering is being made only by means of its offering statement. This document shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

An indication of interest involves no obligation or commitment of any kind. Any person interested in investing in any offering of Stacks Tokens should review our disclosures and the publicly filed offering statement and the final offering circular that is part of that offering statement here*. Blockstack is not registered, licensed or supervised as a broker dealer or investment adviser by the SEC, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) or any other financial regulatory authority or licensed to provide any financial advice or services.

Forward-looking statements

This communication contains forward-looking statements that are based on our beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to us. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the following words: “will,” “expect,” “would,” “intend,” “believe,” or other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements in this document include, but are not limited to, statements about our plans for developing the platform and future utility for the Stacks Token, our Reg A+ offering and launch of our network, and collaborations and partnerships. These statements involve risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different. More information on the factors, risks and uncertainties that could cause or contribute to such differences is included in our filings with the SEC, including in the “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion & Analysis” sections of our offering statement on Form 1-A. We cannot assure you that the forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof. We disclaim any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

Patrick Stanley

Patrick Stanley

Patrick Stanley is the head of growth at Blockstack. He studied Economics and Psychology at Johns Hopkins, and was the first employee at data-driven lending startup Earnest which sold to Navient for $155m in 2017. In a growth role there, he helped it scale from from 1 to 200 employees and go from $0 to $2B in originations within 3 years.