18岁的扎克·亚德加里（Zach Yadegari）从未想过要上大学。
毕竟，他为何需要上大学呢？在提交大学申请之前，他联合创立的卡路里追踪应用程序Cal AI已发展成营收3000万美元的商业帝国，所以可以肯定地说，他做得相当不错。
“Cal AI取得初步成功后，进一步坚定了我的信念。我当时想：'显然，成功并不依赖于大学文凭。'父母终于理解了我的愿景。”亚德加里此前向《财富》杂志坦言。
这位编程神童是位资深创业者，7岁便自学编程。10岁时，他以每小时30美元的价格为求学者授课。高中时期，他创建了名为“Totally Science”的游戏网站，让同龄人无需下载注册即可无限畅玩电子游戏。该项目为他带来了人生首个六位数收入。
亚德加里最终改变主意，决定递交大学申请。尽管拥有丰富的创业背景、4.0的平均学分绩点和美国大学入学考试34分的佳绩，他仍被包括斯坦福大学在内的常春藤盟校拒之门外——亚德加里称斯坦福大学“以初创企业孵化摇篮闻名”。
亚德加里表示，最终仅佐治亚理工学院、迈阿密大学与得克萨斯大学向他发出了录取通知。他选择就读迈阿密大学，并非看重其声望，而是着眼于校园氛围。
“既然无法进入学术顶尖学府，那便挑选社交氛围最佳的院校。”亚德加里说道。
“开学两周以来，我过得非常开心。”他在八月下旬接受《财富》杂志采访时表示。
这或许源于他将大学视为一场“价值六位数的假期体验”。他举办派对，与一群志同道合的18至26岁应用开发者合租房屋。据亚德加里介绍，这些室友都是和他一样成功的创业者。
亚德加里目前尚未确定专业方向。他放弃了商学院课程，转而修读哲学课程。虽然仍选修一门创业课程，但他坦言“课程内容收获甚微”，因为自身已具备实践经验。
尽管享受着派对与高薪生活带来的新鲜体验，他仍坚信Z世代无需大学文凭也能取得成功。
“当然，对大多数人而言，上大学并无价值，即使对我而言，也是如此。我的意思是，我现在乐在其中，我觉得对我来说是值得的，但一旦它变得不值得，我就会抽身。”他坦言。
“但我觉得，我有一辈子的时间去赚钱，而眼下要花的这几十万美元，用来创造回忆是值得的……而不是存起来、花掉、投资，或是其他方式挥霍。”他补充道。
Cal AI的起步
16岁时，亚德加里开始开发他称之为“小项目”的应用程序。其中一款如今已非小项目——Cal AI已发展成价值3000万美元的商业帝国。该应用程序允许用户通过拍摄食物照片来追踪卡路里摄入量。（《财富》杂志查阅的财务记录显示，该应用程序每月收入达数百万美元。）
亚德加里坦言，创业灵感源于少年时期的增肌需求。
“我成长过程中一直身形瘦削，渴望变得强壮、增加体重，”亚德加里告诉《财富》杂志。当意识到自身大部分的进步都归功于饮食时，他开始更多地追踪自己的卡路里摄入量，并超量进食。
但他的健身征程始终缺失关键环节：一款用户友好型卡路里追踪应用程序。他发现当时最流行的应用程序“体验糟糕透顶”。由于缺乏可靠的追踪工具，他无法和朋友在食堂用餐：只能食用提前称重分装好的定食，更常因餐厅卡路里标注不清而放弃外出就餐。
在通过头脑风暴构思出智能手机解决方案后，他向值得信赖的伙伴们展示了这一构想——包括编程训练营结识的朋友，以及在X.com平台邂逅的两位伙伴。据美国全国广播公司财经频道（CNBC），亨利·兰马克（Henry Langmack）、布莱克·安德森（Blake Anderson）和杰克·卡斯蒂略（Jake Castillo）于2024年5月共同推出了Cal AI。
据亚德加里介绍，该应用程序的卡路里追踪精准度高达90%。用户可在苹果应用商店和谷歌应用商店免费下载，订阅服务月费仅需2.49美元，年费则为29.99美元。
亚德加里的财务成功曾获美国全国广播公司财经频道、哥伦比亚广播公司（CBS）和TechCrunch等媒体报道——而他并未通过常春藤盟校的学术背景达成此成就。（*）
译者：中慧言-王芳
18岁的扎克·亚德加里（Zach Yadegari）从未想过要上大学。
毕竟，他为何需要上大学呢？在提交大学申请之前，他联合创立的卡路里追踪应用程序Cal AI已发展成营收3000万美元的商业帝国，所以可以肯定地说，他做得相当不错。
“Cal AI取得初步成功后，进一步坚定了我的信念。我当时想：'显然，成功并不依赖于大学文凭。'父母终于理解了我的愿景。”亚德加里此前向《财富》杂志坦言。
这位编程神童是位资深创业者，7岁便自学编程。10岁时，他以每小时30美元的价格为求学者授课。高中时期，他创建了名为“Totally Science”的游戏网站，让同龄人无需下载注册即可无限畅玩电子游戏。该项目为他带来了人生首个六位数收入。
亚德加里最终改变主意，决定递交大学申请。尽管拥有丰富的创业背景、4.0的平均学分绩点和美国大学入学考试34分的佳绩，他仍被包括斯坦福大学在内的常春藤盟校拒之门外——亚德加里称斯坦福大学“以初创企业孵化摇篮闻名”。
亚德加里表示，最终仅佐治亚理工学院、迈阿密大学与得克萨斯大学向他发出了录取通知。他选择就读迈阿密大学，并非看重其声望，而是着眼于校园氛围。
“既然无法进入学术顶尖学府，那便挑选社交氛围最佳的院校。”亚德加里说道。
“开学两周以来，我过得非常开心。”他在八月下旬接受《财富》杂志采访时表示。
这或许源于他将大学视为一场“价值六位数的假期体验”。他举办派对，与一群志同道合的18至26岁应用开发者合租房屋。据亚德加里介绍，这些室友都是和他一样成功的创业者。
亚德加里目前尚未确定专业方向。他放弃了商学院课程，转而修读哲学课程。虽然仍选修一门创业课程，但他坦言“课程内容收获甚微”，因为自身已具备实践经验。
尽管享受着派对与高薪生活带来的新鲜体验，他仍坚信Z世代无需大学文凭也能取得成功。
“当然，对大多数人而言，上大学并无价值，即使对我而言，也是如此。我的意思是，我现在乐在其中，我觉得对我来说是值得的，但一旦它变得不值得，我就会抽身。”他坦言。
“但我觉得，我有一辈子的时间去赚钱，而眼下要花的这几十万美元，用来创造回忆是值得的……而不是存起来、花掉、投资，或是其他方式挥霍。”他补充道。
Cal AI的起步
16岁时，亚德加里开始开发他称之为“小项目”的应用程序。其中一款如今已非小项目——Cal AI已发展成价值3000万美元的商业帝国。该应用程序允许用户通过拍摄食物照片来追踪卡路里摄入量。（《财富》杂志查阅的财务记录显示，该应用程序每月收入达数百万美元。）
亚德加里坦言，创业灵感源于少年时期的增肌需求。
“我成长过程中一直身形瘦削，渴望变得强壮、增加体重，”亚德加里告诉《财富》杂志。当意识到自身大部分的进步都归功于饮食时，他开始更多地追踪自己的卡路里摄入量，并超量进食。
但他的健身征程始终缺失关键环节：一款用户友好型卡路里追踪应用程序。他发现当时最流行的应用程序“体验糟糕透顶”。由于缺乏可靠的追踪工具，他无法和朋友在食堂用餐：只能食用提前称重分装好的定食，更常因餐厅卡路里标注不清而放弃外出就餐。
在通过头脑风暴构思出智能手机解决方案后，他向值得信赖的伙伴们展示了这一构想——包括编程训练营结识的朋友，以及在X.com平台邂逅的两位伙伴。据美国全国广播公司财经频道（CNBC），亨利·兰马克（Henry Langmack）、布莱克·安德森（Blake Anderson）和杰克·卡斯蒂略（Jake Castillo）于2024年5月共同推出了Cal AI。
据亚德加里介绍，该应用程序的卡路里追踪精准度高达90%。用户可在苹果应用商店和谷歌应用商店免费下载，订阅服务月费仅需2.49美元，年费则为29.99美元。
亚德加里的财务成功曾获美国全国广播公司财经频道、哥伦比亚广播公司（CBS）和TechCrunch等媒体报道——而他并未通过常春藤盟校的学术背景达成此成就。（*）
译者：中慧言-王芳
Zach Yadegari, 18, never wanted to go to college.
After all, why would he need to? Cal AI, the calorie-tracking app he co-founded, blossomed into a $30 million empire before he could even submit applications, so it’s safe to say he was doing just fine.
“After Cal AI started taking off, it confirmed it. I was like, ‘Okay, clearly, you don’t need college to be successful.’ My parents finally saw the vision,” Yadergari previously told Fortune.
The coding prodigy is a longtime entrepreneur, teaching himself to code when he was just 7 years old. By age 10, he was charging $30 an hour for lessons to people who wanted to learn the skill. By the time high school arrived, he had created a gaming website called “Totally Science”, which enabled his peers to play unblocked video games online with no download or registration required. The venture brought in his first six figures.
Yadeguri eventually had a change of heart about college, and decided to apply. But despite having an extensive entrepreneurial background, a 4.0 GPA, and a 34 score on the ACTs, he was rejected from the Ivy League, including Stanford, which Yadegari said “is known for start-ups.”
Yadegari said the only schools that accepted him were Georgia Tech, University of Miami and University of Texas. He decided to attend the University of Miami, not for the prestige, but for the atmosphere.
“If I wasn’t going to optimize for the best school academically, I was going to optimize for the best school socially,” Yadegari said.
“Two weeks into school, I’ve been having a great time,” he told Fortune in late August.
That could be because he views college as a “six-figure vacation.” He throws parties and lives in a house with other like-minded app-building friends between the ages of 18-26. According to Yadegari, they are successful entrepreneurs like himself.
Yadegari is currently undeclared in his major. He dropped out of the business school and now takes classes in philosophy. He still takes one entrepreneurship class, but says he’s “not gaining much from the class material” because he already has the experience.
Even though he’s enjoying his new endeavor of parties and paychecks, he believes his Gen Z peers don’t need college to find success.
“It’s not worth it for most people, for sure, even for me, like, I mean, I’m having a lot of fun, I think it’s worth it for me, the second it becomes not worth it, I’m going to stop,” he said.
“But I feel like I have all my life to make money, but like, the few $100,000 that it’s going to cost me now, it’s going to be worth it to make the memories… rather than to just, like, save it, spend it, invest it, whatever the case,” he added.
The start of Cal AI
At 16, Yadegari started building apps he deemed as “small projects.” One of them isn’t so small anymore, as Cal AI has taken off to become a $30 million empire. The app allows users to track calories by taking pictures of their food. (Fortune reviewed financial records showing the app brings in several million dollars of revenue per month.)
Yadegari said his business was inspired by a personal quest to bulk up when he was a (younger) teenager.
“I was very, very skinny my entire life growing up, and I wanted to start getting bigger and gaining weight,” Yadegari told Fortune. When he realized a majority of his progress was coming from diet, he started to track his calories more and eat in surplus.
But something was missing from his fitness journey: a user-friendly app to track calories He found the most popular app at the time was “an awful experience.” The lack of reliable tracking meant he couldn’t eat at the cafeteria with his friends: he was eating pre-portioned meals that were weighed on scales, and often skipped eating at restaurants because of unclear calorie counts.
After brainstorming a smartphone solution, he presented the vision to partners he knew he could trust, including one friend from coding camp and two people he had met on X.com, as reported by CNBC. Together, Henry Langmack, Blake Anderson and Jake Castillo launched Cal AI in May 2024.
According to Yadegari, the app has a 90% accuracy rate for calorie tracking. It’s free to download on both the Apple App Store and Google Play, with subscriptions priced at $2.49 per month or $29.99 annually.
Yadegari’s financial success has been profiled in outlets including CNBC, CBS and TechCrunch—and he didn’t need the Ivy League to get there.