How to Fundraise for Your Startup: Lessons from a Military Veteran, Chris Wright

Never Been Promoted Podcast with Thomas Helfrich

Chris Wright, the founder of Moray Classical Schools, shares his journey from military service to entrepreneurship, focusing on creating educational solutions for military families. With a rich background as a Special Warfare Officer in the Air Force, Chris provides unique insights into the challenges and opportunities of transitioning from the military to starting and running a school.


About  Mark Aylward:

Chris Wright is a retired Air Force Special Warfare Officer with 20 years of military service. He commanded schoolhouses, managed program development, and earned a master’s degree in education with a focus on teaching and instruction. Post-military, Chris ventured into entrepreneurship, founding Moray Classical Schools to provide a stable and flexible educational environment for military children.


In this episode, Thomas and Mark discuss:

• Founding Moray Classical Schools: Chris explains his motivation and vision for creating a school that supports military families by providing continuity in education despite frequent relocations.
• Military to Entrepreneurship: Insights into the transition from military life to entrepreneurship, including the challenges and strategies Chris employed to start his school.
• Educational Solutions for Military Families: The unique model of Moray Classical Schools, offering both in-person and online education to accommodate the needs of military children and their families.

Key Takeaways:

• Supporting Military Families

The importance of creating educational continuity for military children, allowing families to stay connected and reducing the stress of frequent relocations.

• Resilience and Adaptability

Leveraging military skills such as resourcefulness and leadership to overcome the challenges of entrepreneurship.

• Innovative Education Models

The benefits of a hybrid educational model that combines in-person and online learning, providing flexibility and support for both students and parents.

"Our goal is to make life easier for military families by providing a stable and flexible educational environment." — Chris Wright


CONNECT WITH CHRIS WRIGHT:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-m-wright/
Website: https://www.moraeclassical.org/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moraeclassical/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/moraeclassical
Email: moraeclassical@gmail.com

CONNECT WITH THOMAS:

X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/thelfrich | https://twitter.com/nevbeenpromoted Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hovienko | https://www.facebook.com/neverbeenpromoted
Website: https://www.neverbeenpromoted.com/
Instagram: http

Transcript

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Welcome back to Never Been Promoted podcast. Hi, Thomas Helfrich. I am your host. And if this is your first time attending and or listening or watching or all 3, I I think it'd be all 3. Thank you, by the way. I hope this is the first of many. If you've been here before, we have a new entrepreneur today as I I've never repeated entrepreneurs, so I think that's a bit redundant. But, Chris Wright, he's the founder of the Moray, classical schools, and, he's special in in a way that you wouldn't think. He's actually from, was served the air force and was a if I screw this up, Chris, just kill me. Don't kill me because you can't. Special warfare officer, and, he's gonna explain what that is and kinda how it ties to his, to his, his organization. But thank you so much for listening. We're here to unleash your entrepreneur. We're here to help you be better at entrepreneurship and life just through the journey and and teachings of other people on the same path or similar path. But now we're gonna meet Chris. Chris Wright,
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how are you? Thank you for joining. I'm doing well. And, no, thank you so much for having me on here. This is, this is awesome. So this is gonna be something brand new for me, and, you know, entrepreneurship is is not something I've done over my career, but now venturing out. So it's fun. Thanks.
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I would well, I mean, I would think of the air force. Right? Any of the military. They have to teach you to be resourceful. Like, you can't just, you know I there's a there is there is definitely a, you know, if if enough people there's a procedure for everything. But, you know, all those plans when you get a couple rounds goes by your head or out the door. So
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Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. Then it goes to the training. You do exactly what you were told to do before and then, move out. So but, yeah, you're right. I mean, you know, a lot of people miss have misconceptions about the military is is that you you go in and you do just one thing right by the line and that you don't ever come up with new solutions, and nothing could be further from the truth.
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Yeah. I had no idea. I don't think I would've lasted very long. I have a bit of a mouth on me. I'm just gonna say I'd have to check that. I don't know if I could keep it together for 6 weeks. It would be difficult. I could really keep it together for 6 days around my house without getting in trouble. So, 6 weeks. Maybe I maybe I should have gone military. It'd probably be better. You wanna get a little background on you, just a little, you know, just, you know, just kinda set up how you got to, founding your, the the the Maury classical schools.
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Yeah. Sure. So, 20 years in the military, veteran, twice commanded schoolhouses, where I was responsible for teachers, program development, all that type of stuff. Went ahead and got my master's in, education with teaching and instruction. And so when I left the military, I was like, I I don't know really what I'm gonna do. I got, hooked up with Hillsdale College up in Hillsdale, Michigan. And from there, was developed into assistant headmaster and then executive director. And I was like, man, if I'm gonna do this, I need to do it my way. And so that became the, hey. I'm gonna start my own school and develop people with like minded thoughts of what education should be like and then went from there.
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Yeah. And you're a I mean, are you a fan of Pink Floyd, The Wall? Do you know Oh. Feature of the acoustic alone? Are you like, hey. That's a bit rough now. Come on. No. You're a headmaster.
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Yeah. So, I am definitely a, a Wall fan, for sure. And then as far as the discipline approach is, you you you gotta be careful of not being back in the 19 eighties, which I remember walking into the principal's office. And, yes, I was called in. And he had behind him a paddle with holes in it and hanging right behind him. And I was like, that's not a good thing. You know,
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no way I would do that or support that. But yes, that worked. What age what age were you when you when you got called? Oh, it's 5th grade.
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5th grade. And so I I remember accidentally
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pushed a guy in the mud when we were running, but we're playing football. So I figured, you know, it was all good, but it wasn't. What, you know, for those listening, what I'm gonna say is true for those who are watching, knows it's not. He put up quotes when he said accidentally. So if you're listening to it, it was absolutely true. Yes. I will tell you when I was, like, 3rd gradish, I can't remember 4th, I during lunch, this is, like, in the eighties. Don't know. It's a long time ago. It's been in the silverware because I could. I don't know why. And I think I was trying to impress a girl. And I it broke. And I thought it was so cool. Right? This mother named James Howard, and I'll say his name, James Howard. So, you know, James he did it. He ratted me out, POS. And and, I mean and I got called with this other kid at the the principal's office, and they used that paddle on me. Now corporate punishment was not approved by my parents, so I got away with, like, murder for the next 2 years in, in grade school because I don't know why. My guess is my parents were like, basically, we're gonna sue you everything to him again. And I I took full advantage of that, people. Alright. Wow. So that paddle suck, by the way. I don't think he gave it his full go.
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I don't. Yeah. You you never die. No. I was whooped when I was growing up, and, you know, my dad gave me the belt, and, and I could not be more thankful for that. I actually Sure. At the, yeah, at the time, I was not, but I was sort of thankful that he didn't lay into it. But it was it was enough for me to buy no. We're not gonna do that. I actually have 3 just blessings of kids, and so the paddle has has not been necessary for those 3. But, man, I I definitely my brother, I don't think, got it half as much as I did. I was just right.
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Yeah. I think your parents' guilt gets, gets stacked up, and they don't do it as much. I will leave you this last piece because I I just like this as therapy at this point. We're gonna get to what your school's about. But because this is not the principal's, his name is mister Atwater, which we called mister Fatwater, and this is huge. And we did not like him. Okay. So James Howard, mister Fatwater don't like either of you still. I don't know if either of you are alive, but I am here. Being gracious and humble. Wait. There's nothing to be humility. Alright. Let's talk about your schools. More a classic schools. Sometimes you got to take tangents, people. We're going to get to it. The point okay. I always like to bring back to entrepreneurs the point that there is no point of that except have resilience. You might get your ass beat occasionally and just keep moving forward in life and learn from it. Okay. Now, more at classic schools, tell me about this.
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Yeah. So the whole thought was is when we were moving around so I moved 11 different times. And when I say I, I mean we. And so wife, 3 kids. And when I moved, I moved usually earlier than they did. So I would go in January. They would finish out school, and then they would would come out in that summer. And so my wife's responsibilities were to pack up the house, grab the kids, get them out, and, I actually would push her off to Hillsdale, Michigan. That's where she's from. She would stay on the lake, and then I would get the stuff actually to whatever location. But you're separated from your family for about 3 months that you don't have to be. Like, there are times where I'm going overseas to deploy. At 10 of those deployments. So, you know, we've got enough time away from the family that we didn't have to. So my wife was like, you need to fix this. So that's what that's what we're doing right now is we're developing online and in person school for military kids to facilitate a life that makes it easier for the military families. And so if they're deployed, and the person comes back, the service member comes back, you get 2 weeks off. Well, in normal schools, you kids still have to go to school. Well, in ours, we're like, no. Go spend time with your family. And then Yeah. If people are moving, they can move with their family. We put a halt on the studies for a week, as they're traveling and maneuvering, and then they're online until they're ready to go to the next school, and then we get them back in line. So, yeah, that's the purpose, and that's what we're trying to do. That's a great thing because it's like, first of all, 2 weeks after deployment of any length is not long enough. Let's just start with that. No. Like, it should be like, maybe you should get like a, I don't
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know, a week per month you're gone on. It's like something gives somebody Yeah. It's a lot. That's, 2 weeks is 2 weeks comes it goes pretty fast. Mhmm. And if you're if you're probably deployed, I have to guess, 2 2 weeks coming back, like, you know, there's things you gotta get done and you can't exactly, you know, crush the beach for 2 weeks. He's straight with a fail you know, it's not like it's not enough time, not even close. But if the hang up for moving is often schools, what you're saying, that's kind of the main pain point. Like, you don't you can't if the kids are young, you can just go. But if you got kids in grades and stuff actually, I think it's the other thing. I I mean, we had talked offline a little bit about this. I think it's amazing is that these kids aren't also getting derooted where where they're gonna be arms length and and and not be able to kind of form relationships as friends very deeply because they use, hey, are you planning? And we're like, no, I'm moving. Like, what? Oh, you know, but maybe they're used to it because the other kids are like that. But if they're in public schools or something else, it's different. So so have you know, you're you're on your journey a bit. Tell me about some of the results. Tell me about, you know, like where you are in the in the process, funding, whatever. Like, you know, just kind of lay out where you are current state.
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Yeah. So we're starting in August. And so this has been really my mindset has been thinking about how to accomplish this for the last 5 years. And so, really, over the last 2 years, we were doing it. One of those years I actually had to take off, was dealing with some of the the personal issues of retiring from the military and the mental side of things. And so I just needed a break, and it was it was kinda crazy how the body shuts down as you start dealing with what's happened over in deployment and that kind of thing. So the docs were like, hey. You're you're having some things where you need to go and deal with it and take care of it. So I did that, got back into it, and now we are full into fundraising. We're into admissions. And I think the biggest thing that I'm learning as an entrepreneur, as someone who's who's doing this is in the military, the funding's done, and so you don't really have to worry about that. That's, like, 90% of what I do is talking to people, putting publicity out, asking people to be partner in it, and then walking them through. So, that is a lot of fun because I get to have conversations. But as an introvert, it's
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exhausting. Oh, yeah. And so It is for extroverts too. I'm sure it's exhausting for everyone. On the funny that did the families have to contribute or they asked to if they can or how does that work?
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Yes. So it is a a private school, so they are getting funded for that. One of the reasons I put this as a 5 0 501c3 is I want to grant scholarships. So especially for the enlisted families. So you've got usually, we're grades 5 through 12. So at this point, they're about 10 years into the military career, but that's still not a lot of earning. And to come in and say, hey. I want you to pay $10,000 a year per child. Can't afford it. And so I realized that. So now we're working with the different companies, and I've I've reached out to a couple of the larger military organizations, those who have large DOD contracts, and saying, hey. Wouldn't it be great if you were known for not just investing and getting money from the military, but investing back into the kids and and being able to work through those. And so that's been the fun conversations of, okay, what does that look like? How how are we going to work with that and and go from there?
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Yeah. I would think, I mean, I would think I don't exist, but, maybe on the bigger contracts, they're not, for the MSPs that have to manage them. There's probably not a line item for that. So it's more of just going down to the private companies that are winning $100,000,000,000 contract and saying, hey, 100 ks, that's all that funds them for a whole year. Right. I mean, that gets a lot of people. Right. Yeah. And so is that how you're approaching it or is it more of a Exactly. Yeah. Okay. So and and are they finding that line item or are they that stingy on it?
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No. They so there are some, that are looking at it and, like, hey. We don't really work with private schools. However, if you have a gala or if you have something, then I can buy a table for x amount of dollars. You know? And so you need for 45,000,000? We got it. Yeah. Exactly. Exactly. So you need to you need to work with them and figure out what are their red, or or left and right limits. What's their red tape that they have to get through? Because 90% of the time, people want to do things, but someone at a higher level is saying, yes, but you need to stay within this range so that they don't have lawsuits or discrimination suits or anything like that that could, could stop them from donating.
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That's great. So, I mean, we usually do shameless plugs a bit later, but how do people donate to you? What's the what's the best method? Sure. Best methods go to moraeclassical.org.
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It's moraeclassical.org. Right at the very top, it it says, tax donations, accepted, and you click on a link, and you can go straight through PayPal there. Or they can just hit, more a classical atgmail.com. That goes direct to me, and we can have conversations
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of however you want to do it. Yeah. But do you, other types of volunteers? Like, as you're, you know, you're building your your school. Right? You're you're building a business, you know, know, not for profit or not to business. So you still need teachers. Yes. How do you go about that with the, you know, your your delivery arm of your organization is teaching. So how do you find the teachers?
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Right. And so a lot of that is connections. So we are with I've said this before with Hillsdale College. So they have a large organization there, which we will reach out to teach, for teachers. Multiple people have seen this online and have already reached out and said, hey. How do we get involved? So we start hiring March 4th. Oh my gosh. That's like a week away. And so week. The the interesting part of this is we are really working on depending on how many students come in will depend on how many teachers we have. And so now we're looking until we hire a base amount. But, you know, ultimately, we could get up to 40 teachers in the next year, which hiring 40 people puts a lot of pressure on HR. And, and so we're we're working through that. But keeping the the pipes open for the water to to go through, but just sort of seeing where we need to tweak. Well and I appreciate. So so I think, if you're listening, you got you got an idea of the school. So,
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I think a big transition you talked about, if you can come back to it, is from service to entrepreneurship. And and and I know a lot of veterans struggle with, man, just being overseas, coming back, family, all the things that I can't I can't even fathom. And then you're thrown in this world. And I and if I and I just know from just not having to go through all that and still being an entrepreneur how hard it is. So I feel like there's a multiple stacking of challenges. So I think a lot of people are on the spot that you have you're going through or they're they're considering it. So So what kind of advice would you give or what have you learned along the way, specifically, maybe just transitioning from military service to? Yeah, I think a lot of it is do your homework.
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And so, you know, when you're thinking about transitioning, whether it be the military or anything else, when you have a large life changing moment, you really wanna stop and think through what is that going to look like. What is my life going to look like? Like simple things. When I transitioned from the military to civilian was I have to get a doctor. I have to do I have to find a dentist. You know, all those things that were typically done for insurance. Oh, my gosh. Don't even get me started. What is a racket? So there are a 1000000 different types of of questions that you need to answer. And if you plan on doing it 90 days before you walk away, you're going to be in trouble. So making sure you do your research on that type of thing and and figuring out. And then I call people and schedule calls with people for 10 minutes. And I have a question planned, and I have, where I want to go with conversation. And I just call and say, hey, can I get 10 minutes of mentoring? I'm an Air Force Special Warfare veteran, 10 combat deployments. Love to talk to you for 10 minutes. I'll hold myself to that, I promise. But I just would love to get your advice on what you've learned and constantly do that, on different people, different aspects of life.
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And in that those 10 minute conversations, you can remember one that stands out.
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Yeah. 11. The best conversation I had was with a previous boss who had done it 3 years before me. And I went back to to him and and was like, alright. What were your big trouble points? Why were those your trouble points? If you were me now a year from from leaving, what should I be doing now? And that simple conversation saved me a ton. And and so people love to tell you their stories and people love to tell you their their pitfalls and how they would change it because they it is almost like I get to relive it again and not make the same mistake again. And so they they feel accomplishment for that. So it helps them and it really helps you. Well, no doubt. And, I mean, that premise alone is why I have this podcast.
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People love those stories. I want to help other people. He nailed it, folks. He's got the marketing plan now. Chris, so so tell me about, you know, you're you're in the throes of it. Right? What's the one thing you're doing now outside of fundraising stuff? Just but like you have a lot of unknowns coming. So what are you doing now to kind of prepare for that next phase? Other than worrying that's yeah. You got to worry. Yes. And then.
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And and then, I really spend a lot of time thinking for my board and for my team that I'm about to have. And so what are their trouble areas? What are the things that I could take off their plate from doing things. And and so as an entrepreneur, as a, a CEO, as a leader, my job is never to really do anything. My job is to eliminate red tape. My job is to make things easier. So when my people come on board, they have every resource they have. They know exactly what to do, and then then it's streamlined processes. And if I can do that, I can build a team of people who are happy, who want to be there, and then are able to accomplish and actually do the job that I want done.
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What do you think is your your experience in military? What do you think is the kind of the top skill, that you learn there that you're applying here?
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You know, I'm not dropping bombs. And so that that definitely, is the number one skill I have. Bombs. Before
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Yeah. I mean, multiple multiple bombs. Actually, the question is, which did you drop more of? I mean, that's I
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Yeah. Yeah. Those those were definitely high stress situations. I I always tell people because I'm a high school coach as well, and I have never, not one time have I ever dropped any bad language when being a coach. And so I am extremely good. But there are times when you're in a different situation where you need to be talking different and things slip out. And so, yeah,
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I would I would definitely I diverged that conversation. So so what was the what are you drawing upon besides dropping bombs? And I just find humor sometimes. I get cheeky towards the afternoon. So No. What was the skill you said? You're not dropping bombs, but what was the kind of skill in the military you learned that you're applying here?
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Yeah, I think it's how to read people and how to communicate. I think those are the the major things that I need to be able to do is, 1, I need you you have to get into the room. Like, I had a boss that told me that, and they he was asking me a conversation that was happening. I was like, I don't know. They're in their room. He's like, walk in the room. And I was like, what do you mean? He's like, just open the door, walk in, sit in the corner, don't say a word, don't make eye contact. I was like, okay. And so, you know, there's a lot of times where I will just walk in to an office, go talk to someone, be like, Hey, this is Chris. I'm talking to Bob. And they're like, Do you have an appointment? I was like, No. But we talked before. He said, Stop by sometime. I'm stopping by. And, you know, we'd always have an email saying, I'd love to stop by and talk. Well, that's that's the yes. Come by sometime. So find a way to get in, find a way to have a meeting, and get that 2 to 3 minutes and then walk away. Don't be a burden. You said you're an introvert. That sounds very extrovertish
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and stalkerish.
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It is a little stalkerish, but I know stalkerish,
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but not introverted at all.
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I I will tell you that I think that's one of the things that is why I get so tired at night. I go home and you in the military, you really need to be an extrovert. You you need to be that. Even if your personality is not, you need to be able to accomplish that task. Don't be afraid of getting shot down. Don't be afraid of walking, walking in and and getting the door slammed. And if you can do that, man, that's fine. Go home and you can take care of yourself and drink your beer and cry into the pillow or whatever you need to do at night. But you have to do that during the day. You know, you you also said another one. You know, the military is somebody standing operating procedures just for efficiency. And
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you did that in your company as well. Like, it sounds like you applied some of the ideas and look at repeatable processes so we can execute.
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Yes. So we have ridiculous amounts of policies and procedures written down. But I am I am 100% in favor of you have to know all the rules. You have to figure them out. But then the leader of that organization, because I have we have multiple schools all over, the country. Each individual there has the authority to break the rule if they need to. Just let me know. Hey, I'm breaking this rule because of x reason. I know it's a rule, but it's the best decision. And my response is go to it. As long as it's legal. Yeah. Yeah.
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Rules. Hopefully, I think you should be really there's rules and laws and moral code. All right. Yes. You have to defend now. Why is Air Force, if you believe it to be the best line or the best area of military or, you know, or defend it or say it's not, but you have to defend it.
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Yeah. I think it's the best at taking care of people. I think quality of life is absolutely the best. I think as far as the best, I I would not say it is. And and here's here's why. I loved my time with the army, and I spent over half my career with the army. Their ability to lead people, far superior. Air Force, we can manage programs, and and we can do that. Great. But as far as leading people, it is really hard to beat the army.
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Yeah. Army's leaders. All right. That's good. I had forgotten that you were you had split time. Yeah. I know you should have mentioned the other 2 was asleep off the table. Okay. They just they can play their own. They're kind of Yeah. We we we we can talk about that offline. They're great.
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They are very good at what they do. There's no if you want if you want a person that is just gonna do whatever you say and do it excellently to perfection, marines, man, they're incredible. This is not my personality.
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And then he's got to have the most, like, psychological strength because to live on a boat or a sub with somebody else, anyone else, let alone a bunch of dudes for that. Yeah. That's a whole. Yeah,
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it's. And they are there's a
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so laid back culture. It's it can be a really, really good time hanging with the Navy. So. Oh, yeah, that's a good question. So I know this has nothing to do with entrepreneurship. I got to ask. Yeah. Supposed to go drinking or going out with like, maybe
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5.5.
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It's not even close. All that. Hands down.
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Yeah. This is not even close. Like, they if if a Navy person says, hey. We're gonna go out. I got it taken care of. You're like, got it done. We're we're we're going with that guy. They just they just
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personality wise. I don't know why it is, but it is. It's just it's I think you'd have to be when you're just kind of locked your, you know, in a small space. Let's see. Yeah. Yeah. Sounds anyway, I know I had nothing to do. Alright. Let me know your school. You you you have a make a prediction. Right? So you're you're solving a big problem, I I hear. And I hear, and that that may not keep some families, but it gives, you know, from moving, but I and I but it gives a problem solve that if you wanna stay connected to kids no matter where you go after it's the momentum's there, they're you're just part of school saying, hey. No. I'll see you next week. I'll be online. And some of these kids, they may never meet till some might be in, you know, Germany. Some might be in, you know, Texas, whatever else. And they may meet one day or not, but at least they see the same faces, and they get to know people online a little bit. What's the prediction like? Where do you how do you how do you is it gonna go viral? Is it gonna be just, you know, do you think it's gonna be something that's gonna be a a grind? Or how how do you think the, the growth of your organization is gonna proceed?
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Yeah. I I think it'll I think it will reach a a group of individuals within the military. I do not expect nor do I think it's a great thing for all military kids to jump in and do this. And and here's why I say this, because one, the classical education is is challenging. 1, there are some kids that will thrive in the ability to do some virtual and in person. So it's a it's a hybrid model and be able to do that. And then there's some some kids that will not thrive in a model like this, because it you're teaching a lot of independence, on the child. But I think that there are some people that see the value of things being taught in traditional education, and classes that are being taught and classes that are not being taught in traditional education that they'll say, you know what? I can do that. Or where they might say, hey. I I wanna go and try homeschool and then say, you know, that's that's not for me. I don't get enough personal time with the other kids and things like that. So there's a market. There's a niche for it. And so I I think we will get to the sustained level that we're trying to get to, but I I wouldn't see it as huge. And quite honestly, I don't think I can be effective if we say,
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a 1000000 kids that there's just too much. That would be that would need to be in you'd be petitioning Congress for your own line of funding at that point. Yes, exactly. Right. I mean, if we all learn what's done from COVID and I know I learned this personally is that not every parent's a good homeschooler, and nor are there kids who can achieve anything from home ever except play Fortnite
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or Right. With their phone or watch their tablet. So if you haven't seen it, look at Baltimore. Look at their education rates during COVID. So 59%. I think it's 59. 59% of students in Baltimore had a failing grade.
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Yeah. I mean, there's I I always said during that time period, why are we grading anything? Can we just say showed up, pass, fail, did our best? I mean, let's just get rid of grades. Actually, I don't think kids should get grades till they get to high school anyway. I think it should all be pass, fail. And then when you get to high school, you start to stack an order for college. Fine. But before then,
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come on. Anyway Yeah. So grades are grades are for parents. I honestly believe that. They're not for the kids. Like, the kids are gonna do well. Like, I don't get an a. I missed it by 1. Like, the total is 89.4.
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So
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And and here's here's something that people don't understand. C means you're doing good.
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That's the Not miss coverage. That is not good. You're not hitting your potential. You won't give me your phone. You you just, Chris, give me your phone. It's gone for the week. Oh, sorry. It had a flashback there to yesterday.
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Yes. Yes, exactly. And I saw it. I saw a study today NCAA, kids that go to play division 1, 2 and 3. Like, I was watching for lacrosse. And so guys, lacrosse is 12%. 12% of high school athletes. Basketball was 3%. 3% of basketball players are going to go. And like every parent, it's like, oh, my kid's good enough to go to college and play play a sport. And I'm like, no. 97% your kid's better than 97% of all other players? Maybe. But I'd say 97% of parents can't say that. Just a round round number. I don't know where I'm getting it, but, you know, that's just people have mass expectations. And, you know, I think that's something that my, doctor Breslin, he's he's my COO, and I are sitting down and having conversations with is ensuring our teachers understand there's much more to life than just a grade. And so you have no idea who what your employers or employees or students or family members are going through right now. Like, you better understand that or you're going to start losing a lot of people.
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Yeah. Agreed. And, somebody, you know, like, you know, for this podcast specifically and the kind of movement I have called Cut the Tie, I want to rethink the idea of what a normal job is. I've said, let's cut the eye. It's cut the tie to the idea of a normal job means you go to school and you go work for somebody. Well, how about you go to school, which I'm okay with education. I think you should learn things and learn how to interact and learn, build a network. I think those are probably the most important parts of college. Interact and learn, build a network. I think those are probably the most important parts of college, but come out and be your own boss. So come out and try something that you want to go do. Go to school to learn how to be become an entrepreneur Mhmm. And come out because I think that should be the normal. I think your first job should be to try to work for yourself. And if you don't have the skills, then you go mentor or you go work someplace till you get them. But the idea that you're leaving to go do something new, build something new for the world. And so I I think that's the way to go with it. And I think and if it ties back to grades that we push our kids like anybody else and what you're trying to do there, it's the understanding that give your best effort, try to follow the processes, and truly be in the moment. And if that ends up being a C, perfect. But if you're checked out and you're not doing all the things you need to do and you're getting C's or D's or whatever, that's the problem is that you're not giving the effort of where your focus should be in the moment, which means you're going to do that. It extrapolates other things in your life. And I have this challenge with my kids and I see this with other parents having it too. And I think if your school is trying to give reality around that, like, not about the grade, it's about the effort and the focus and execution. And because you're going to that person is going to find that, listen, you just don't get in jobs, that that's what you have to go to. Right. You're creative. Go create some new things that just says, here's the idea and you come back with awesome. No processes involved, just your brain. Go do that. So, yeah, I think you're you're you're setting your school up correctly to maybe be more a little more in the modern world of of it. And I think the I think also your idea that there the there's a mixed physical location so you can see people because that parents need those breaks too. So, you know, if you're home with kids all day, everyone knows that that's not a good idea. So you want to make sure Yeah. That they have a place to go and you can get your time to, you know, wellness as well. So I think that's a very smart business district. Yeah. And so we made a we made a conscious decision of
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not not just how do we serve the kids, but how do we serve the parents, which is ultimately what we're we're trying to do with the school because of the flexibility. So we have in person from 8 to 5. And so if they're in school, great. If they're at home, great. I don't care, but I wanna present a a place where if you've got 2 working parents, they've gotta drop the kid off if they feel like they need to. So we have a study hall that they can go and spend all day in. They have a place where they can eat. All of the that is contained inside,
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so we can make sure that that we're protecting the family itself. So yeah. So if you're not both in military, because you'd have to be an 8 to 8 school. Yeah. Care of this 12 hour shift.
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So in the military, there's actually rules on dual service member families and ensuring that they don't have to work a schedule that's beyond 8 to 5. And so when I was a commander, I knew well, I knew all my people. I knew all their wives' names. I knew all their kids' names. I knew what their school if they were in school. I knew if they were in a sport, like, all of that. And then if it was a game day and if you missed a child's game when you were home, when you were not training, I knew about it as the commander. And so we were very big in taking care of people. And so that that's a a big deal. So for us too, we want to make sure that we're working with the parents saying, hey, one of you needs to drop them off in order to get them to school at 8 and one of you needs to pick them up. And if you guys need to do and that's up to you. But, man, we're we're here to help. Are you guys doing are you doing on base typically? Off base. But, yes, we're looking to put micro school. 200 is the max in a school outside of a base. If it gets to over 200, we're gonna build another place that they can go. So Got it. We're not trying to babe we're not we're not, Alpharetta. You know, we're we're we're not gonna be able to get that big, or a Buford or anything like that. So we're we're trying to be the the smaller
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type schools. Well, I I was I was thinking because just just transportations and things like that getting there. That's That's always Uh-huh. Hey. Listen. I just conscious of time. Once again, how should people get a hold of you if they they wanna learn more about your organization or or working with you or donating?
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Yes. Absolutely. Go to, www dot morae, spelled Morae, classical dot org. You can find all the information that you need there. We've got videos on YouTube. You can hit Instagram, Facebook at moraeclassical. And then if you on there, you'll find the contact page that's, for me, and that's moreyclassical@gmail.com.
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I appreciate that. And before we go, I was just asked this question and maybe specific around, you know, specifically the audience that might be, military looking to go become an entrepreneur. Was there any books or podcasts or people that you follow, like, on social media that you recommend?
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Yeah. So if you are looking to be an entrepreneur and if you're looking to do that, the first thing you want to do is make sure you sign up for a skill bridge. A skill bridge is a program that allows you to go work for a company for 3 months before you get out, your paid military pay. You the military is trying to invest back into you in a company. That is critical. Even if you're not going to, for sure, go work for that company, go learn the skills, go figure out what's going on in that type of industry. And then if you want to do your own, you can go from there.
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That's great advice. That's Vince Skillbridge. I appreciate it. Chris, thank you so much for joining today and just just telling your story and sharing your, you know, your your journey with us. No. Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. Thank you. Anybody who's made it at this point, I always give away dad points. I know some of you are like, what the hell is that? And if this is your first time, you're like, I don't know what a dad point is unless you're a dad and, you know, there's nowhere you can actually spend them, but collecting them is what's important. So thank you for listening to this point. Get ahold of, Chris at, moraeclassical.org. Right? And if, this was your first time, thank you so much for coming here, and listening and or viewing this. And if you've been here before, thanks so much. You know, we are on this mission. I am I am personally on this mission to create more entrepreneurs, and I want them to be better at it. And, you know, as as you listen to this podcast, take away 1 or 2 things. If that helps you, we've done what we we've set out to do for the day. So until we meet again, on the Never Been Promoted podcast, get out there and go unleash your entrepreneur. Thanks for listening.