Zach Yadegari -Tracking Calories to Tracking Millions-
Zach Yadegari, currently a 19-year old entrepreneur, was only 16 when he sold his first business. A website called Totally Science for $100,000, but it was two years later, as an 18-year old high school senior that he built the app that would change his life, Cal AI. Cal AI is a calorie and macro tracking app that allows uses to snap a picture of their food and receive estimates data, keeping people on track with their goals. He came up with the idea while trying to track his own fitness progress and found it difficult to keep track of what he was eating. Instead of accepting the antiqued methods of macro-tracking, Yadegari built Cal AI. Launched in May 2024, the app quickly gained traction, after just four months the new tool had crossed $1 million dollars in sales!
Zach didn’t build the app alone. Co-founders Henry Langmack, Blake Anderson, and Jake Castillo built early versions of the app out of a “hacker house” in San Francisco. A reason for the Cal AI’s early success was the marketing model the team used. Rather than relying on traditional, expensive advertisements, Cal AI targeted small to medium sized social media influencers to promote their product to their audiences.
By the time Zach was 19, Cal AI had passed 15 million downloads and was bringing in an estimated $30-40 million a year! Built by a core of only 7 employees the company decided to sell to MyFitnessPal in late 2025. Ironically MyFitnessPal was the antiquated platform that prompted Zack to create his app in the first place. Today, Yadegari and the team still work for Cal AI under new ownership.
I learned that you don’t always have to have a completely new or grand idea to create massive amounts of success. Finding a need in your own personal life and observing the current market offerings can often lead you to more viable ideas than trying to create a product from scratch.
Judah Lindsay
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This was very interesting to read. The fact that this guy is roughly my age and has created not one successful business, but two is crazy. He sold both of his businesses, one of which to the people that he based his app off of to begin with, for a lot of money, potentially more than he was making from the apps. This just goes to show that all you need is determination and a fresh look on things. Zach didn’t try to make anything new; he just redid something that already existed into something that was even better than before.
Great insightful post! I really liked how you pointed out that businesses can also come from improving something that already exists. Zach’s story shows me that paying attention to your own struggles can help you recognize opportunities that other people might not see. It is also so crazy to think how successful he is at my age now.
It’s amazing seeing someone so young having the success that Zach has had. It is crazy to think how much success he is going to have throughout his whole life. It is interesting how he was able to improve an idea that was already out there but become so successful with it. I will be interested to see what else Zach is able to accomplish. Great post!