My dad gifted me an iPad on my 11th birthday. I spent the next 3 years addicted to Clash of Clans.
At 14, I used it to earn my first $ by writing 'SEO optimized' (lol) wordpress articles on freelancer.com.
At 15, I won an entrepreneurship competition. I didnt have an idea so I built websites for everyone around me who did. I received a Rs. 20,000 (~$250) investment which I blew on my first pair of Jordans.
At 18, I graduated from the #1 HS in India. Qualified for the AIME twice. Got a 1570 on the SAT. A youth wasted; I didnt build anyth cool. I fell in love with math though.
I spent most of freshmen year playing poker & failing exams. School didnt excite. I felt lost for 2 years.
Last summer, at 20, I rediscovered my love for building. I co-founded Atlas w my closest friends. We snuck into the Phia office on weekends to ship.
At the end of the summer, we parted ways. I got my first tattoo. And I decided to 'lock in' on building.
I built Sentry and shared it at Verci -- a coworking space in Flatiron that quickly became my 2nd home.
A few months later, I joined BePresent (my first 'job'). I got a desk at the Verci satellite for ~60 days and built their android app. I stopped doomscrolling & got closer to god.
I missed an important meeting because I had to turn in a handwritten assignment. Frustrated, I started building cheatnyu.com.