This as-told-tos Essay is basic on a conversation with Jake Castillo, A 30-YEAR-OLD COFONDER ATA, AN AI-POWERED NUMTION AND FOOD TRACKING APD, BASED IN CALIFORNIA. Business Insider Has Verified the Financial Claims Mentioned in this Artical. This Story has Been Edited for Length and Clarity.
Right after my master’s, I WORKED IN MANAGEMENT CONSULTING, AND HATED IT. I Immediately Look for Something I’d Hate a Lot LESS THAT WAUDED PAY A Comparable Salary.
I JOINED AN AI STARTUP PARTUP AFTER I SAW ITS FOUNDER’S POST ON TWITTER ABOUT SCALING HIS BUSINESS. At the startup, we got a high school intern named zach. I made it a goal to jump on calls with Him and enure he gained something from His Experience.
Zach Left the Internship to Focus on School and His Own Projects, and I decided on Had Learned Enough and Made Enough Connections that was Ready to leve Both my part-time startup and starting my own e-commerce business.
Right after I Left, Zach Called with and Asked with them Help Him HIS New App. The first few months were TOIGH, and I remember not leaving my room for days at a time Because the work was so intense. Howver, Just a Little Over a Year late, we are Generating over $ 1 million in profit each month.
Immediately, realized zach was not your normal 16 -ear-op
New Zach Started Working With Us As an Intern In Early 2024, I Remember As Slymber My Boss What He Was Going To Be During HIS Internship, and It Sounded Like Shadowing Was the Main Objective. I didn’t think that was the best way to make it a fruitful experience for Him.
I SLACKED HIM TO INTRODUCE MYSELF AND LEARN WHAT I WANT TO GET OUT OF THIS. He was working on the side projects and figure out how to distribute and markets of products. We start Jumping on Calls to Talk Through What I Waled DO and SOOME ECTESS THAT SHOULD RUN THROUGH.
AFTER TWO MONTHS IN THE INTERNSHIP, he left to double down on the Things he was working on. I WISHED HIM The best, and that was the end of it. It wasn’t unil three months late that he reached out again. That’s wen he asced with to join his new app, and it changed everything.
It was the most important Phone call of my life when he was asced with to join the Team
Zach Called with and Said He Had a New App That Was Growing Pretty Fast and Could Use My Help Managing It If I was up for it. It was perfect timing. The app, cal he, an he calorie tracking app, launched at the end of the April 2024, and i joined as one of the Cofounders at the beginning of May.
My Role Is Hybrid, As cmo and Coo, where i Manage Our Marketing Team and Oversee All Operations. In the beginner, we were so hungry and obsessed that we wanted to success more than we were. I HATED The Long Hours in Management Consulting, but those hours were not nothing compared to what we put in.
I’m Older than Everyone on the Team, and My Life Circumstances were different. I had expenses, and i was planning on proping to my then-girlfriend at the end of the year. It wasn’t that hard to budget Becuse, as we scaled, I was doing anything to spend Money. I didn’t leave my room. Therea’d be days wen i realized i hadn’t gone outside all weeke.
What It ‘Like to Work With A Young Founder
A lot of People Ask me with the fowing team being so Young, there isn’t a “boss” structure, all of us fowers on equal footing, and there aren’t struggles work with Each Other. Its been amazing. What has Has Surprised with Most About Zach is How He DOsn’t Let Fear or Uncetainty Steer Him. He Trusts his intuition and goes with it.
From Left to Right: Zach Yadegaari, Henry Langmack, Former Cal He Employs Rylan, and Jake Castillo Courtesy of Jake Castillo
We’ve Gown Fast, and I think the Biggest Key has ben how obsessed all of us are with our work. There are Cal he copycats out there with a Very Similar Product and Marketing Strategy, but swimming a fraction of Our success. Now we’re at about $ 3 million in revenue a month and over $ 1 million in profit.
I’m MAKING THE IMPACT I DREAMED OF MAKING IN MY CAREER
IT’S REALLY COOL THAT OUR APT HAS BEEN DOWNLOADED BY MILLIONS, AND PEOPLE ARE US ON INSTAGRATION, E -MAKEING US, OR MESSAGES IN THE APP, TALKING ABOUT’S LOST WEIGHT AND HOW THEIR LIVES HAVE COMPLETELY Changed downloading the App.
I can’t find articulate how good it is me, especially Becausee i Remember How to felt I though i was going to make a difference and was reviving PowerPoint decks. Its like a dream come True.
You don’t know who in your Network Will Change Your Life
I always tell people when i talk about how caral he came to be, to be nice to everyone, Because you never know that one act of Kindness can Change Your Life. I was able to join the cal he team just kidieu i sent a slack message to an intern, Because of wanted to enzure his good experience. That Simple Decision Completely Changed My Life.
TRATE AS IF THEY WERE THE FUTURE CEO OF APPLE OR THE NEXT BILLION-DOLLAR COMPANY BECAGE THE VERY WELL COULD BE.
Do you have a founder’s story to share? Contact This Reporter, AGNES APPLEGATE, AT aapplegate@businsinsider.com.