i'm a 22-year-old founding engineer at a yc startup in san francisco. i moved across the country to build something real with close friends. here's the full timeline.
season 3 began january 18th. launched origami's self-serve product and got our first payment from a stranger — the hardest dollar. 75 users in week one. now focused on content and product in parallel. still hosting events, still building in public. 14 weeks to go.
the year i actually "did the thing." started january with a few hundred dollars in chicago, working out of 1871. took a gap from uiuc to join Origami (YC F24) in san francisco as founding operations. taught myself engineering on the job working alongside the team — no cs degree, just obsession and practice. within months, grew origami revenue from $5k/month to $65k/month. built The Nest, an mcp server that automated my own job — cut prep time from 20 hours/week to 20 minutes/day. made content for Jesse Itzler during SEI. posted 33 reels on instagram. hosted 6 hangouts for entrepreneurial friends. flew back and forth between sf and champaign to finish my last 5 classes. officially graduated from Gies College of Business with a finance degree in december. the single best decision of the year: moving from being the ceiling of my environment in champaign to the floor of a new one in san francisco.
interned at Innovo Markets and transitioned to a consultant role. ran a marathon. helped found Illini Run Club. started recording short-form reels for Proof of Concept. scouting at Soma Capital. in december, accepted the role at origami and made the decision to move to sf.
went skydiving. knocked 1000s of doors as a sales rep at Blue Raven Solar — very character building. started attending Luke Clancy's jam sessions for entrepreneurs and fell deep into the startup world. started hosting casual rooftop hangouts for student entrepreneurs at uiuc.
graduated high school at Notre Dame College Prep. lost in the sectional final for baseball and retired. varsity bowler captain. managed the frozen department at Mariano's in Harwood Heights. recruited speakers for Illinois Sports Business Conference. started an interview channel — "school of hard knocks" style talks with student founders and creators. after dozens of interviews, realized: these people had no idea who each other were. so i started bringing them together.
met my future roommates working at Mariano's. most of my attention was directed towards getting more playing time for senior year baseball. stocked shelves in a freezer for three years straight.
covid — probably most disciplined i've been in my life. lot of my attention went towards travel baseball and lifting. got deeper into the 'motivational' and 'stoicism' space. started reading Rich Dad Poor Dad, 12 Rules for Life, Can't Hurt Me.
made the freshman basketball team. got my first job at Habetler Bowl in Jefferson Park. read Can't Hurt Me by David Goggins and got deep into the self-help space. got big into the gym and science-based lifting.
graduated from St. Celestine Elementary. started playing baseball at Illinois Travel Baseball Club in Mount Prospect. played pretty much every sport in 8th grade — baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer, track and field, cross-country, and bowling.
born in Elmwood Park to some great parents. shoutout Mom and Dad.
member of Phi Chi Theta business fraternity
brought REACH to the uiuc content-creation scene
learned a lot of what-not-to-do as co-founder of Defined Trajectory Personal Training
caddied and had conversations with retired ceos at The Old Elm Club in Lake Forest
finance degree from Gies College of Business, University of Illinois
documenting it all on personal Instagram