
TheCriticalEducator
5.2K posts

TheCriticalEducator
@TheCriticalEDU
I believe in a based education so we can all critique critically. This is just a personal account, mostly here to get stay informed and network.












My 5 year old set up a lemonade stand on the driveway this morning By 11am he'd cleared $10 I sat him down at the kitchen table to walk through the financials Lesson one: taxes Had him lay all ten singles flat on the table Pulled $3.70 for federal at the top marginal rate $1.53 for self-employment $0.83 for state and local Slid $3.94 back across the table He stared at it I told him that's why owners don't pay themselves W-2 Lesson two: adjusted EBITDA We rebuilt the income statement Cups. Added back Lemons. Added back Sugar. Added back Water. One-time normalization Driveway rent. Above-market related party Founder hours marked to a $25/hr opportunity cost By the end he had $10 of revenue and $47 of adjusted EBITDA I told him to apply a 12x multiple Enterprise value of $564 Lesson three: continuation vehicles I stood up Brooks Lemonade II, LP Son sold the stand from Fund I to Fund II at 14x I took 20% carry on the markup He kept the rest Said it didn't feel like he sold anything I told him that's the point Now for Monday He's mapped three other kids on the cul-de-sac running stands Plans to acquire all three at 4x at recess Roll them into the platform Piggy bank provides the unitranche. SOFR plus 600. Covenant lite Mark the platform at 16x in Brooks Lemonade III LPs are first graders with allowance money Take a recap dividend Reset the clock I didn't say anything He was already in Excel Make common sense common again Sent from my iPhone






What’s the deal with Diablo IV doing better representation of World of Warcraft than WoW itself?










Fourth-grade science fairs are not for children. They are a shadow battleground for middle-class parents with unresolved academic trauma. My daughter needed to build a diorama of a coastal ecosystem. I told her to use an old shoebox and some construction paper like a normal kid. Then I saw what the other parents were posting in the class WhatsApp group. One dad had 3D-printed a working tide pool with an automated water pump. Another family imported actual sand from the Galapagos Islands. I panicked and drove to the craft store at 8 PM. I spent $85 on resin, miniature foliage, and a battery-operated lighthouse. I stayed up until 3 AM meticulously painting tiny seagulls while my daughter slept. She got a B minus because the teacher said her presentation lacked independent thought. The kid with the 3D-printed tide pool won first place. His dad is an aerospace engineer. Next year we are doing a baking soda volcano and accepting defeat.












