Pitch Deck
AI Studio Teams
Portfolio-Based Pathways to AI-Era Careers
Stanford CREATE+AI Finals
Track 3: Augment Career Opportunities
The Experience Paradox
System Failure Detected
The Ladder is Broken.
Entry-level roles—the traditional first rung of the career ladder—are being automated away.
"You need experience to get the job... but you need the job to get experience."
Predict AI will displace fresh graduates.
Decline in entry-level tech postings (LinkedIn).
Don't Give Them the Fish.
Teach Them to Fish.
Most AI training teaches prompts that expire in months. We teach metacognitive skills through real business challenges—skills that transfer across any AI tool, because tools change, but the way you THINK persists.
Giving Fish
"Here is a prompt for ChatGPT."
(Brittle. Expires quickly. Tool-specific.)
Teaching to Fish
"Here is how to THINK about any problem."
(Durable. Transfers everywhere. Human-centered.)
SkaFld Trailhead
The Platform for Building Adaptive AI Skills Through Project-Based Learning
Trailhead AI Coach
Guides problem decomposition through Socratic questioning—teaches thinking, not answers.
Employer Review Portal
Industry partners validate work samples—real feedback from real professionals.
12-Week Learning Journey
Decomposition thinking · AI discernment
AI-coached real business challenges
Employer projects · Portfolio building
Result: Portfolios that prove capability—not credentials that claim it.
AI as Coach, Not Crutch
Teaching how to think—AI guides, students discover
Four Pillars, Backed by Learning Science
Building capability that employers can verify.
Portfolio Over Credentials
Work samples predict job success 5x better than grades.
Schmidt & Hunter, 1998Near-Peer Mentorship
Seniors mentor Sophomores. Teaching reinforces learning.
Topping, 2005Employer Integration
Real projects with real stakes transfer better than simulation.
Lave & Wenger, 1991Responsible AI Practices
Students learn WHY ethical boundaries matter—active judgment, not just rules.
UNESCO, 2021The SkaFld Ideation Methodology
Research Wide. Validate Narrow.
1. Escape the Trap
"We know our industry."
2. Research Wide
3. Validate Narrow
Translate patterns back to the problem.
"The best solution to your problem likely exists in a field you've never explored."
El Segundo: The Perfect Pilot
Nation's densest aerospace & tech corridor. 5 schools. 3,400 students.
(8 Teams)
(Boeing, Northrop)
(Year 1 Goal)
(Employer-Rated)
Target
Equity by Design
Portfolios are the great equalizer—evaluation based on capability, not background.
Explicit Parity Targets
- 50% Female / Male Ratio
- 40% Free/Reduced Lunch
- 30% First-Generation College
Barrier-Free Entry
No coding prerequisites
No GPA requirements
No equipment costs
Selection based on interest and commitment
The Right Team to Execute
Technology • Design • Policy
Former CTO, LA Clippers & UTA
Creator, SkaFld Ideation Methodology
Founder, SkaFld Venture Studio
Stanford BA '86
Advisory Scholar, Stanford mediaX
Co-Chair, UN SDG Fund Breakthrough Alliance
COO, SkaFld Studio
Co-Founder, Lyfe AI & Defy Mortgage
Full-stack Developer & Architect
Rebuilding the Bridge to Careers
The first dollar is the hardest. This is that dollar.
The Ask: $50,000
To do this right takes $500K–$1M. Stanford CREATE+AI is the leverage that unlocks the rest.
Sustainability: Recurring District Contracts and Employer partners cover the $521/student program cost.
AI Studio Teams
Teaching the Next Generation to Fish.
Human-centered · Interdisciplinary · Portfolio-proven