19-Year-Old's Calorie App Hit $30M in Revenue by Flooding Social Media With Paid Influencers

Cal AI's explosive growth hinged on a straightforward playbook: pay influencers aggressively and measure results obsessively. Founded in 2024 by then-teenager Zach Yadegari, the AI-powered calorie tracker generated $30 million in revenue across two years before MyFitnessPal acquired it in March. Yadegari disclosed the strategy at TechCrunch Disrupt, explaining how one influencer post drove 1,000 new users in 48 hours, signaling the model's potential. He systematized the approach by recruiting influencers rapidly, offering performance-based payouts tied to user acquisition targets. The key, he noted, was identifying creators with tight-knit communities rather than massive but shallow followings. Now 19 and a Forbes 30 Under 30 alumnus, Yadegari has shifted focus to Persona, an AI agent startup that just raised $10 million to build personal AI assistants accessible via iMessage, email, and hardware.