How I Built A $1.4 Million/Month AI App At Age 18

At just 18 years old, Zach Yadagari is the co-founder and CEO of Cali, an app that uses AI to automatically calculate calories and macros from a food picture. The app generates approximately $1.4 million a month after app store fees, with profits reinvested into the business. Yadagari recently took a $100,000 dividend payout and purchased a Lamborghini, viewing it as a dream fulfilled rather than an irresponsible purchase, as he doesn't plan to accumulate many material possessions.

Driven by a personal frustration with existing calorie-tracking apps that required manual food weighing and input, Yadagari and his co-founders leveraged advancements in AI, like ChatGPT, to create Cali. The app was launched after a focused summer in San Francisco, living and working intensely in a hacker house, which proved to be a significant turning point for the company's development and team building. Despite juggling high school, including AP courses, Yadagari prioritized Cali, dedicating around 40 hours a week to it, even opting out of AP tests to focus on the app's growth.

Cali's success is largely attributed to its influencer marketing strategy, which forms the bulk of its spending, and its unique AI-powered approach to food calorie and macro tracking. The app's development was initially low-cost, with significant investment occurring post-launch to scale the business. Yadagari views entrepreneurship as a meritocracy where age is secondary to skill and market validation. He plans to attend college for the social experience and to be around peers, but his ultimate goal for Cali is to become the leading calorie-tracking app, and beyond that, to build a generational company.

• 18-year-old Zach Yadagari is the co-founder and CEO of Cali, an app that calculates food calories and macros from pictures using AI.
• Cali generates about $1.4 million per month after app store deductions, with profits reinvested or distributed as dividends, including a $100,000 payout to Yadagari.
• Yadagari was motivated to create Cali by the cumbersome nature of existing calorie-tracking apps and the advancements in AI technology.
• He prioritized building Cali over high school academics, dedicating around 40 hours per week to the app and even skipping AP tests.
• Yadagari plans to attend college for the social experience while continuing his entrepreneurial ventures, aiming to build a generational company after Cali.

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Cali App and Financials [00:01]

• Zach Yadagari, at 18, is the co-founder and CEO of Cali, an app that automatically calculates calories and macros from food pictures.
• The app generates approximately $1.4 million per month after app store fees.
• Profits are primarily reinvested into the app, with remaining cash paid out as dividends.
• Yadagari recently received a $100,000 dividend payout.
• He purchased a Lamborghini, viewing it as a dream fulfilled rather than an irresponsible purchase, and plans to save money afterward.

To be 18 and have a Lamborghini honestly feels kind of awesome. I think a lot of people will use age as something that is a self-limiting belief, but I didn't buy into any of that. When I've wanted to do something, I will just go and do it.

Motivation for Cali [01:52]

• Yadagari started working out at a young age to gain muscle and impress classmates.
• He found existing popular fitness apps frustrating because they required users to weigh their food and manually input all details, deeming it unsustainable.
• The release of AI technologies like ChatGPT inspired him and his co-founders to hypothesize they could build an app where a picture would suffice for calorie and macro calculations.

Fast forward about a year or two and Chat GBT and all these other AI technologies started releasing and so along with my co-founders, we hypothesized that we could build an app where you could just take a picture and AI will do all the work for you.

App Development and Launch [02:52]

• Yadagari and his CTO, Henry, spent a summer in San Francisco, living in a hacker house and sleeping in the office to focus on making the app succeed.
• This intensive month was a turning point, leading to the first real hires and team building, establishing a strong rhythm for the next year.
• Cali has three co-founders.
• The app's development was inexpensive as Yadagari and Henry programmed it themselves.

And so along with Henry, my CTO, we decided, let's spend the summer doing everything we can to make this app actually succeed.

Balancing High School and Entrepreneurship [03:43]

• Running Cali while in high school was challenging.
• Unlike previous side projects where school took precedence, Yadagari prioritized Cali, dedicating an average of 40 hours per week on top of school.
• He even chose not to take his AP tests, as he didn't anticipate going to college at that time.

But Cali, for the first time, I would prioritize. I would put in on average 40 hours a week into Cali on top of school, often working while in school.

Cali's "Special Sauce" and User Misconceptions [04:25]

• Cali's core strategy, or "special sauce," is influencer marketing, which accounts for the majority of their spending.
• Competitors are cited as a reason for starting Cali because their apps were perceived as poor.
• A misconception is that the AI has "X-ray vision"; users must ensure all ingredients are clearly visible in the picture.
• The app's tutorial aims to teach users how to use the scanner effectively.

Our special sauce at Cali, what we really do, right, is influencer marketing. And that's where a far majority of our spending goes to.

App Store Payments and Refunds [05:07]

• All refunds are handled directly by Apple; Cali does not process payments or handle credit card information itself.
• Users often misunderstand that the app handles payments, but it is Apple that manages these transactions.

All refunds are handled by Apple directly. We don't process payments ourself within the app.

Early Life, Coding, and Entrepreneurial Drive [05:26]

• Yadagari began learning to code at age 7, inspired by video games like Minecraft and Roblox.
• His entrepreneurial drive was fueled by a feeling of being constrained by the traditional school system's path (good grades -> good college -> good job -> money).
• He aimed to bypass these steps to make money directly and alleviate stress.
• As a freshman, he built an unblocked gaming website for students to play games at school.

The biggest was that I always felt like I was pushed down a very narrow path in the school system because I want to get a good grade on this test so that I could get into a good college, so that I could get a good job, so that I could make money.

Scaling Costs and Profitability [06:21]

• Building Cali was inexpensive due to self-programming by Yadagari and Henry.
• Significant spending began after launching to the public.
• Scaling the business required funds from Yadagari's previous venture, Totally Science, and additional investment.
• Apple's payout schedule (approximately 45 days after a sale) created a cash flow challenge, where scaling costs outpaced incoming revenue for months.
• Despite the cash flow lag, the company was very profitable.

Because of Apple's payout calendar, they pay you about 45 days after you make a sale. And so because of that, we were scaling faster than Apple was paying us, which meant that for months we were putting money in and weren't seeing a proportional amount of money out.

College Plans and Future Goals [07:24]

• Yadagari decided to attend college primarily for the social experience and to connect with peers his age, rather than for a traditional career path.
• He plans to live in a house with other app founders near campus, dubbed the "app mafia," to create content, host parties, and educate aspiring app developers.
• He anticipates a challenging but fun dual life balancing entrepreneurship and student life.
• His main concern is the potential lack of motivation for college coursework.
• The long-term goal for Cali is to become the largest calorie-tracking app, operating on autopilot.
• Beyond Cali, he plans to build a "generational company" that can push its impact even further.
• He believes entrepreneurship is a meritocracy where age is irrelevant; skill and market acceptance are what matter.

However, before that, I want to hold on to a little bit of this childhood experience of going to college, making new friends, having a good social life of peers that are also 18 years old. I think entrepreneurship is really cool because at the end of the day, age doesn't really matter much. You're either good or not good at what you do. And then the market will decide the rest.