Jamie Beaton couldn't legally sit on his own board at 17, but built Crimson into a global education empire โ and is now taking on Big Law with an AI visa startup, teaching a unicorn-building course at Auckland University, and quietly betting on the next generation of founders.
In this episode of TechMates, Hendrik and Mark sit down with Jamie Beaton, founder and CEO of Crimson Education, for a second time โ and this time the conversation goes deeper. Since they last spoke, Jamie launched an AI-native immigration law startup called Concord Visa, opened New Zealand's largest charter school, and is now teaching a unicorn-building course at the University of Auckland with Peter Beck as a guest lecturer.
๐ The West Is Losing the Education War: Why India and China's obsession with academic intensity is quietly winning the global talent race โ and what New Zealand should do about it.
โ๏ธ Concord Visa: How Jamie built an AI-native immigration law platform that's already serving Halter, Partly, A16Z and Blackbird โ and why Trump accidentally made it take off.
๐ซ Fixing NZ Education: Jamie's three-step policy blueprint โ replace the national curriculum with A levels, get University of Auckland into the top 25, and give students loans to study abroad if they come back.
๐ผ The Founder Skill Set: Why a generalist founder mentality beats a single degree โ and what the top 20 people on Meta's AI team have in common.
๐ณ๏ธ 2028 Hot Take: Why Jamie thinks AOC might be the next Democratic presidential candidate โ and what AI angst has to do with it.
YouTube: https://lnkd.in/gQnb_WbB
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/4is21QI
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/42KZ2x1
Jamie Beaton LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-beaton/
๐ Learn more about NZVC: https://www.nzvc.co.nz
Mark Pavlyukovskyy โ https://www.linkedin.com/in/pavlyukovskyy/
Hendrik Remigereau โ https://www.linkedin.com/in/hendrik-remigereau-09a03067/
00:01 โ Welcome back: married life, India tour & what's changed since last time
01:16 โ Julian Robertson, Tiger Management & the mentor who shaped Crimson's ambition
04:14 โ Why Jamie's mum had to sit on his board at 17
04:44 โ The first board meeting and the moment he knew the race had started
06:27 โ Investor relations: why long-term capital is Crimson's secret weapon
08:09 โ The India tour: 5 cities, 3 days, 4 Subways and hundreds of families
10:44 โ Is the West losing the global education war to China and India?
14:57 โ "For every weed-smoking Steve Jobs, there's a million Call of Duty players"
15:29 โ The founder skill set: why generalists beat specialists in the AI era
17:20 โ Why Jamie seriously considered running for National โ and what stopped him
19:21 โ Policy blueprint: A levels, University of Auckland top 25, and student loans abroad
23:54 โ Concord Visa: building an AI-native immigration law platform
26:57 โ Did Trump make Concord Visa's business explode?
28:25 โ Where else AI will demolish traditional law firms
30:29 โ The bigger Crimson vision: from age 5 to first startup investment
33:57 โ How Crimson is different from Andela โ and why education is still the core
35:01 โ The Forbes column on AI and intersectional thinking vs. deep expertise
38:21 โ What should parents actually teach their kids in the age of AI?
41:51 โ Why human tutors still beat AI for young learners
47:46 โ Why writing still matters โ and what we lose if kids stop doing it
49:00 โ Are we heading toward an AI-controlled dystopia?
51:20 โ AOC vs. JD Vance 2028: Jamie's hot political take
53:20 โ How to restore faith in technology and entrepreneurship
54:45 โ Will anti-AI politics kill New Zealand's startup ecosystem?
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