Make way, Mark Zuckerberg, Silicon Valley possesses a fresh force to showcase among its roster of emerging entrepreneurs. The wealthy Gen Z, 22, is challenging the notion that [[INLINE_2]] shies away from diligent effort.
TL;DR
- Foody, a 22-year-old, co-founded Mercor, an AI recruiting venture, with Adarsh Hiremath and Surya Midha.
- Mercor, developed during a hackathon, uses AI to streamline hiring and achieved $1 million revenue in under a year.
- A $350 million investment round valued Mercor at $10 billion, making its founders decacorn billionaires.
- Foody attributes his success to relentless work, forgoing time off, and an obsession with his venture.
Foody is part of the group of three 22-year-olds hailing from The Bay area who transitioned from being debate partners to becoming self-made billionaires, thanks to a substantial investment round for their artificial intelligence recruiting venture, Mercor.
During a hackathon in São Paulo, the model for the company was developed, and Foody recognized that he, Adarsh Hiremath, and Surya Midha had created something that couldn't be duplicated in educational settings. Their AI-driven recruitment system streamlines parts of the hiring workflow, including reviewing applications, pairing candidates, and conducting AI-assisted interviews. In under a year, he and his fellow founders transformed the concept into a business generating $1 million in annual revenue, which they assert is among the fastest-scaling startups of the AI era.
Their wealth was generated from a recent $350 million investment round spearheaded by Felicis Ventures, with support from Benchmark, General Catalyst, and a new backer, Robinhood Ventures, elevating them to decacorn standing with a $10 billion valuation.
Having left Georgetown University to fully commit to Mercor, Foody's schedule isn't filled with leisurely conversations or opulent relaxation. Despite a demanding agenda of appointments (which he notes could amount to 40 hours in a busy week), Foody stated that his passion for his venture sustains the entrepreneur and former Thiel Fellow.
“I like when I don’t have too many meetings,” Foody told Coins2Day. With all the investment into his business, and little free time—a good day for Foody now consists of writing documents or curating ideas.
Extended work periods are commonly linked to certain Bay Area new ventures adopting the “996” operational approach originating from China, where personnel are anticipated to labor from 9:00 a.m. Until 9:00 p.m., six days weekly. Foody stated that one of the practices contributing to his billionaire standing was consistently foregoing any time off.
“We work a lot, I’ve worked every day for the last three years,” he said.
“People generally burn out, not just from working hard, but from working hard on something that they don’t feel as fulfilling and compounding.”
That outlook only materialized once Foody concluded his studies. Prior to withdrawing, he believed employment was a task he'd been trained for.
“It was oftentimes things I didn’t enjoy doing,” he said. “Versus when I started Mercor, it really became this feeling of obsession that I can’t stop thinking about, even if I’m getting dinner with my parents or whatever, it’s going through the back of my head.”
Observing the effect of his enterprise
“I think always making sure that I see the impact of what I do, the ROI of putting in a huge amount of time is most important,” he added.
“I can’t really take a day off, because I just have this impulsive drive to go back to it. So I think that people finding the thing that they’re obsessed with and can really pour their lives into, is one of the most important things.”
At 22 years old, all three individuals who started the company are younger than Mark Zuckerberg was when he achieved billionaire status at 23. Prior to becoming recognized as the globe's youngest self-made billionaire, accounts suggest Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan held that distinction at the age of 27.