Who's Zach Yadegari, Teen Millionaire CEO Rejected from Harvard, Yale, Stanford?
Teen entrepreneur Zach Yadegari, CEO of Cal AI, sparked debate after Ivy League rejections despite a 4.0 GPA and a $30M startup.
- Viral News
- 2 min read
An 18-year-old entrepreneur leading a $30 million startup, has ignited an online debate after sharing that he was turned down by multiple Ivy League universities, including Harvard, Stanford, and Yale.
Despite his outstanding academic record—a perfect 4.0 GPA, a 34 ACT score—and a strong background in tech entrepreneurship, he did not secure admission to these prestigious institutions.
In a post on X, which has garnered nearly 10 million views, Zach Yadegari, CEO of the nutrition tracking app Cal AI, listed the prestigious universities that declined his application. However, he also shared that he had been accepted by Georgia Tech, the University of Texas, and the University of Miami.
The rejections left many people confused, while others wondered if his tone or application essay played a role in the decision. Some even speculated that a sense of entitlement might have affected his chances.
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Yadegari shared his college essay on X.
Who's Zach Yadegari?
Zach Yadegari, an 18-year-old high school graduate and CEO of the AI-powered nutrition app Cal AI, achieved remarkable success at just 17. Alongside his co-founder, Blake Anderson, he scaled Cal AI to $1 million in monthly recurring revenue (MRR) within six months.
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During the COVID-19 pandemic, Zach Yadegari spotted an opportunity in the growing use of Chromebooks in schools. He built a gaming platform that provided students with easy access to popular games, attracting 5 million users before selling it for a six-figure sum.
Inspired by this achievement, Yadegari teamed up with Henry Langmack, whom he met at a coding camp, to explore the consumer app market. Their first project, Grind Clock, was a motivational alarm app featuring intense wake-up calls inspired by David Goggins. While it gained 20,000 downloads in just two weeks, maintaining long-term growth proved challenging.