New Zealand needs to ‘destroy’ tall poppy syndrome - Jamie Beaton

Entrepreneur Jamie Beaton.

Entrepreneur Jamie Beaton founded education mentoring enterprise Crimson Education at the age of 17.

What are your hopes for the new Government?

The New Zealand education system is failing our students. From our uncompetitive NCEA curriculum, which systematically weakens our students’ ability in math and science, to our struggles attracting and retaining teachers, the Government’s vision to overhaul education is critical. I am excited to see David Seymour’s vision for more innovative schooling models coming to life to better serve Kiwis and give them genuine choice. As an isolated country, we cannot have an isolated education system: we must have a globally competitive, transformative education system that helps our young people compete on the world stage.

How would you describe 2023 for your business?

2023 was a huge year for the Crimson Group, with more than 700 students getting into Ivy League universities, the best in the world in our industry by far, and a number of acquisitions with strong financial performance. We also became the first New Zealand school to win an award at the World’s Best Schools competition for innovation, where Crimson Global Academy (CGA) was selected in the top three most innovative schools in the world. CGA is now ranked as the 25th best private school in the United States, and we have the strongest academic performance of any New Zealand school as we strive to give Kiwis a world-class high school education through A-Levels, American Advanced Placement credentials, and genuine acceleration options. A highlight for me personally - one of our Kiwi students, Koan Hemana from Rotorua, began his undergraduate studies at Harvard.

What will be your biggest business challenges in 2024?

We want Crimson Global Academy to be accessible to more Kiwis. We have record numbers of students applying for our scholarships and we need to continue to find more ways for more students throughout New Zealand, not just the urban centres, to be able to access our world-class high school education. For example, Anna Hutchens used Crimson Global Academy to take three A-Levels to help her get into Oxford Medical School. I want to see more Kiwis thriving on the world stage and destroying tall poppy syndrome. We love tall poppies!

What opportunities do you see in 2024?

We have launched artificial intelligence offerings to help give our students a major competitive advantage in the application and candidacy development process. From personalised tutoring and marking help for teachers, to adding to our college admissions teams, to continued rapid integration of leading AI capabilities, AI is a massive opportunity for our business. We are also excited to support the success of Kiwis under a Government that has made fixing the education system a major priority.

What was the most interesting news story of 2023?

The US Supreme Court has banned the use of affirmative action in US college admissions. This would be the equivalent of eliminating all programmes that help Māori and Pacific students gain admission to medical schools at preferential rates. This policy is going to cause a plunge in the number of Hispanic and black students at top universities, and a rise in the number of Chinese and Indian students. Given how transformative accessing many of these universities can be for people, there is intense pressure from all sides on anything that affects the chance of students getting in. This was a historic change in the global education landscape.

What are your predictions for 2024?

Donald Trump will win the US election. The same move to the political right we have seen in New Zealand is bubbling in America with a cost of living crisis. People are frustrated about the major global conflicts that continue to rage on, and they want change. I think New Zealand education statistics will get worse before they get better. I hear horrifying stories about Year 9 students bringing drink bottles filled with alcohol to school, and the vaping epidemic triggering disruption (i.e. via fire alarms) every couple of weeks at some high schools. We need to fix this education system urgently for the future of New Zealand.

What’s the worst mistake you have made in business?

I think many entrepreneurs, including myself, buy into the hype of companies which promise revolutionary operational efficiency from their products. However, we’ve learned the hard way that many of these software platforms are archaic, with poorly designed user experiences that add no business value – in fact, often they detract value because people don’t like to use them. These companies focus more on being “sticky” and extracting value from customers than adding it themselves. We are in the process of fixing some of these systems internally, and I think young entrepreneurs need to have an eyes-wide-open approach about many of the SaaS products on the market. Software may be “eating the world”, but that doesn’t necessarily help your business.

What would you rate as your greatest success?

Without a doubt, establishing the Te Ara A Kupe Scholarship. The scholarship has helped J’Adore Harris-Tavita become the first Māori student to study at Duke University. It helped Sam Taylor and Koan Hemana, two young men from Mt Maunganui and Rotorua who are both Māori, to go to Harvard University. Additionally, our alumni from New Zealand and Australia now work at OpenAI, Tesla, Meta, McKinsey, Citadel, have won Rhodes Scholarships, are in the new New Zealand Government, have raised millions in venture funding and sold a company to Amazon Web Services - already. Our students’ success is my greatest success, and our team and I are honoured to contribute to their journey.

Where did you holiday this Summer?

I am going on a classic Kiwi roadie with friends, visiting Rotorua, Queenstown, Auckland, Mt Maunganui and the Coromandel. It has been fun expanding Crimson globally and seeing so many countries and cultures, but New Zealand is the most beautiful place in the world.

What would you recommend as a good book to read over Summer?

I’m going to be cheeky and recommend my own – ACCEPTED! Secrets to Gaining Admission to the World’s Best Universities. The book was a national best-seller in the US, but is most relevant to Kiwis as I describe how many New Zealand students have used their education to go global, get into the best universities in the world and turbocharge their careers. Education transformed my whole world, and the summer is a great time to reflect on your ambition and goals and what you can do to achieve them.