Zach Yadegari

Whilst looking for a young entrepreneur, I stumbled upon Zach Yadegari. Yadegari portrays the quintessence of what an entrepreneur should be in today’s society as his story merges ambition, technology, and resilience. To begin with Zach began his entrepreneurial journey by learning to code at the young age of seven years old. Through this newfound interest he was able to create a gaming website that bypassed school content filters and amassed over 5 million users. He later sold this venture for $100,000, which marked the remarkable beginning to his journey as an entrepreneur. Later he created Grind Clock, a motivational alarm app, before pivoting to focus on the health and wellness space with Cal Al. Despite achieving the academic credentials of a 4.0 GPA and 34 on the ACT, Zach’s path to a higher education in preparation for entrepreneurial success hasn’t been remotely smooth. He applied to 18 colleges and was rejected by 15, including prestigious schools such as Harvard, MIT, and Stanford. Ultimately he accepted an offer from the University of Miami. Observers speculated his issue resided in his admission essay as he questioned the necessity of college, due to this the public reacted in a polarized manner. Yadegari’s chosen topic created his publicity to have a division between people who admired his boldness and others who criticized him for perceived arrogance or lack of humility. He endured confrontation during his collegiate education and, as previously mentioned, began to focus on wellness and health with Cal Al rather than letting his circumstances stunt his success. Through the creation of Cal Al, an app in which users snap photos of their meals and receive estimates of calories and macronutrients, he was able to achieve several million downloads and reportedly hit more than $30 million in revenue. I believe Zach Yadegari portrays the quintessence of a young entrepreneur because his story shows that no matter how unconventional your path may be it can lead to attention, technical skills as well as execution matters, resilience is essential, and balance is a choice. Though he endured hardships he portrayed strong resilience and ambition by continuing to develop his business during his college education all while facing criticism. This is the showcase of a prime example of a young entrepreneur in today’s society.

– Zach Yadegari