Summary:
18-year-old Zach Yadegari cofounded Cal AI, an AI-powered nutrition app generating $30 million annually
Sold his first app at 16 for $100,000, using proceeds to fund Cal AI development
Learned programming through YouTube and online resources after initial coding camp exposure
Built Cal AI to solve personal weight gain challenges, recognizing diet's crucial role in fitness results
Mark Zuckerberg served as major inspiration for pursuing entrepreneurship beyond game development
Simple advice: ignore naysayers and start building, leveraging modern tools like ChatGPT for learning
The Journey of a Teenage Founder
Zach Yadegari, an 18-year-old cofounder and CEO of Cal AI, shares his incredible journey of building an AI-powered nutrition and food tracking app that now generates around $30 million in annual revenue.
Early Beginnings and First Success
At just 16 years old, Yadegari sold his first app, Totally Science—an unblocked gaming website that allowed students to play games in school—for almost $100,000. The app earned him thousands per year through Google AdSense before the sale, providing the initial capital for his future ventures.
Identifying a Personal Problem
Every app or game Yadegari built was designed to solve a problem in his own life. As a skinny kid trying to gain weight, he quickly realized that most results come from diet. This personal challenge inspired him and his cofounders to create Cal AI, a calorie-tracking app that integrates cutting-edge AI technology.
Building the Team and Scaling Up
After launching Cal AI, Yadegari moved to San Francisco with one of his cofounders during their junior year of high school. At just 17 years old, they spent the summer building their team from scratch. Through strategic outreach, they connected with experienced mentors, including one who had previously scaled apps to millions of downloads.
Rapid Growth and Establishment
Within a year and a half, Cal AI grew into a 30-person team generating approximately $30 million in annual revenue. Yadegari describes the proudest moments of his life as meeting people who use Cal AI daily, seeing his creation make a real impact.
Learning to Code Through Self-Education
Early Exposure and Inspiration
Yadegari's coding journey began at age 7 when his parents enrolled him in a coding camp. While he didn't learn much initially, it sparked his interest in what was possible. He turned to YouTube to teach himself programming, spending hours daily watching others create video games.
From Video Games to Entrepreneurship
Attempting to recreate complex video games taught him valuable lessons about development. After watching "The Social Network," Mark Zuckerberg became a major inspiration, pushing Yadegari to pursue programming beyond game development.
Balancing School and Projects
Despite his entrepreneurial pursuits, Yadegari maintained good grades and a social life. However, he dedicated multiple hours daily outside of school to building projects, often working on them during class time.
Advice for Aspiring Founders
Just Get Started
Yadegari's best advice is simple: ignore the noise and begin building. He emphasizes that it's becoming easier to be a founder, especially with tools like ChatGPT available to the next generation.
Leveraging Available Resources
While Yadegari used Google, the internet, and YouTube as his primary learning tools, he notes that today's aspiring founders have even more powerful resources at their disposal.
Navigating College and Entrepreneurship
Finding Balance
Now enrolled at the University of Miami, Yadegari is taking a light course load while continuing to work on Cal AI. With systems in place, his role has shifted to overseeing vision and direction rather than day-to-day operations.
The Social Challenge
The biggest challenge he faces is finding like-minded peers who share his interest in real-world problems, business models, and solutions—topics most college students aren't discussing.
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