The EdTech Lie: Why Most Online Courses Are Cash Grabs
With Francis Carlisle, Founder, Keenu
Former IELTS examiner Francis Carlisle on the pressure students face, what is wrong with standardised tests and building an AI tutor from real classroom problems.
From the show notes
📧 francis@keenu.io
Francis Carlisle, founder of Keenu and Last Minute English, joins us on Founders Mindset Unfiltered to pull back the curtain on the truth behind the IELTS industry, the toxic pressure Chinese students face, and why the education system is broken.
An ex-IELTS examiner and English teacher in China, Francis shares his journey from classrooms to creating AI-driven tools that give students a 1-to-1 learning experience. We dive deep into:
🔥 Why 90% of online English courses are scams🎯 The shocking truth about how Chinese students live under constant academic pressure💡 How Francis turned real classroom pain points into an AI startup (Keenu)⚠️ The controversial truth about standardized tests like IELTS🧠 How the education system trains kids to pass—not to learn📉 Why most EdTech startups fail students📈 The future of AI tutors and the human connection they still lack
This episode is raw, real, and controversial — just how we like it.
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