Brief Summary
This episode features Zach, an 18-year-old high school student who has developed a calorie-tracking app called Cal, which is generating $20 million in annual revenue. The podcast explores Zach's journey, from his initial inspiration to the app's rapid growth and his future aspirations. Key points include:
- Cal uses AI to identify food from pictures and provide nutritional information.
- Zach's entrepreneurial spirit was evident from a young age, starting with an unblocked gaming website he created in high school.
- Influencer marketing played a crucial role in Cal's success.
- Zach's long-term vision involves building impactful companies and prioritizing learning and personal growth.
Introduction
Zach, an 18-year-old high school student, has created Cal, a calorie-tracking app, generating $20 million in annual revenue with over 30% profit margins. The hosts express amazement at Zach's success, especially at such a young age, and introduce him as someone who has potentially been inspired by their podcast.
About Cal App
Cal is an AI-powered app that allows users to track calories by taking pictures of their meals, providing data on calories, proteins, fats, and carbs. The AI scanning is about 90% accurate, which is better than FDA nutrition labels that can be up to 20% inaccurate. Zach mentions that he and Blake came up with the idea, because he was tracking his calories on MyFitnessPal and found it tedious.
Growth and Team
Cal started 10 months ago and grew rapidly. In the first month, it made $30,000, and by the third month, revenue hit six figures. Zach has three co-founders: Henry Langmack (CTO), Blake Anderson, and Jake Castillo (COO). Henry and Zach met at a coding camp when they were 10, and Blake was found on Twitter.
Side Hustle Idea Database
The hosts briefly mention a side hustle idea database with 100 ideas for listeners looking to start a side business.
Early Aspirations
A video from three years prior shows Zach at 14 or 15 years old, outlining his plan to make $1 million in high school. He broke down the goal into smaller, achievable daily and weekly targets. Zach explains that his motivation stemmed from a desire to make a significant impact and bypass the traditional education-to-job route.
Totally Science
Zach's parents are lawyers, and he was entrepreneurial before his dad started a financial consulting firm. He previously created Totally Science, an unblocked gaming website for students, which grew to five million users through TikTok and generated $60,000 in two years. He sold it for $100,000 at age 16 and used that money to fund Cal.
Influencer Marketing
Zach explains how he built the app and used influencer marketing to grow it. He reached out to fitness influencers on Instagram and TikTok, offering paid promotions. The pitch involved a direct question about paid promotion, followed by a brief description of the app and its benefits.
Totally Science Marketing
For Totally Science, Zach created the videos himself, recording his screen in class and adding captions to encourage comments. For Cal, they rely on influencers to create content, leveraging their expertise to make viral videos. They pay influencers in advance and predict the number of views based on previous videos and community engagement.
Future Plans for Cal
Cal aims to be a sticky product like MyFitnessPal, which generates over $100 million annually. Zach views Cal as a stepping stone and wants to build a company that impacts billions of lives, potentially linking nutrition tracking to overall health. He plans to use the financial freedom from Cal to start another company focused purely on impact.
Learning and Impact
Zach was inspired by "The Social Network" and wants to create something good for humanity. He estimates Cal's valuation at close to $100 million, making his stake worth around $30 million.
Golden Window
The hosts discuss the "bear on a bicycle" phenomenon, where combining coding skills with TikTok knowledge creates something remarkable. They believe there is a golden window for young, AI-first builders to create impactful products.
Sharing Knowledge
Zach is motivated to share his knowledge on podcasts, believing that only a select few will put in the necessary work to achieve similar success. He wants to help those who are unsure where to start but have the potential for significant impact.
Logical Thinking
Zach's logical thinking and fresh perspective are highlighted. He shares that he has 15 employees, including some in their 40s, and credits his co-founder Jake Castillo for the company's organization.
AI Frameworks
Zach shares frameworks for coming up with new ideas, focusing on how AI can improve existing tools and processes. He looks for "aha" moments that can be captured within an experience and then builds an app around that.
AI Journal
Zach suggests building a journal app with AI insights to improve users' lives, similar to an AI therapist.
Android/iOS Converter
Another idea is to create a system or agency that converts Android apps to iOS and vice versa, using AI to automate much of the process.
Remotely Configurable Onboarding Flows
Zach proposes building a system for remotely configurable onboarding flows, allowing app developers to easily test and optimize the user experience.
App Studio
Zach briefly considered orienting themselves as an app studio, leveraging their marketing expertise to quickly scale multiple AI apps. However, they decided to focus on Cal due to its rapid growth potential.
Parenting
Zach attributes his success to his parents fostering his desire for freedom and independence from a young age. He recounts a story of running away at age 10 because his mom wouldn't let him cook scrambled eggs by himself.
College Plans
Despite his success, Zach plans to attend college for the social life and to build relationships, with the intention of dropping out after a semester or two. He has a 4.0 GPA and scored a 34 on the ACT.
Inspirations
Zach is inspired by dead people, such as those featured in the "Founders" podcast, as well as figures like Mr. Beast and Elon Musk. He also finds inspiration in his co-founder Blake Anderson and friend Cliff Weitzman.
Octobuddy
Zach shares a trend among girls in his high school of using Octobuddies, which are suction cup phone mounts, as stylistic accessories rather than for their intended function.
Quitter App
Zach mentions new apps like Quitter, designed to help men quit porn, which were inspired by Cal's success.
Growth for Growth Sake
The hosts caution against growth for growth's sake, emphasizing the importance of finding enjoyment and fulfillment in the process rather than solely focusing on external validation.
Advice
Zach shares that he asked Val for advice on coming on the podcast. The hosts advise Zach to balance maintaining his beginner's mind with seeking guidance from experienced individuals who can offer valuable insights. They also caution against taking advice from all successful people, as not all advice is equally valuable.
