SM: In the past 20 years English has evolved significantly as a language. DD: Exactly, and it has evolved in its own manner. There is an academy in France that decides what constitutes a French word. There is no academy that decides what an ‘English’ word is. It is very much an open source language.
SM: When you left Time Warner, you said you joined a dot-com. What did that entail? DD: I became CFO for a company out of Hong Kong that was in the online advertising business. The idea of the company was to take many of the models that we have in the United States and create
SM: If I have understood correctly, the primary presentation of your business occurs on two ends, with gifted students doing Advanced Placement courses on one end and at-risk students on the other end. It also seems that schools will do whatever it takes to help at-risk students to help them pass. CV: Overall, yes. Where
SM: At this point, do you have full coverage of the entire basic high school curriculum? CV: We do. We cover the requirements across subject areas of math, science, social studies, and English in order to graduate.
SM: In your research, what were some of the key deltas you found between your at-risk students and your gifted students, and how did that affect your design? CV: There are a great many things we do differently now that we are addressing at-risk and low performing students. What you find when you do the
SM: Apex is venture funded, correct? CV: It is. The company has a long history of financing. It was initially started by Paul Allen and his firm. There were other small investors who came in as well. Prior to my joining the company, Warburg Pinucs invested. Immediately prior to my joining Warburg Pincus acquired the
SM: What was the status of Apex when you joined seven years ago? CV: Apex was founded in 1997. I joined in the fall of 2002. The company at the time was primarily an online Advanced Placement company. They had developed a set of online Advanced Placement courses that were delivered with the assistance of
SM: Have you remained in the education space since your introduction to it at Apple? CV: I have, with one exception.