Cal AI founder credits a small army of influencers for viral growth

Zach Yadegari, the 19-year-old founder of AI-powered calorie-tracking app Cal AI, shared on Thursday at the TechCrunch Disrupt technology conference how his company became widely known within two years. His account matters for anyone following how startups grow on social media: the approach relied on paying a large number of content creators to promote the app.

Cal AI was founded in 2024. The company brought in more than $30 million in revenue over two years and was acquired by MyFitness in March for an undisclosed sum.

From one post to a system

Yadegari saw an early sign of traction when a single influencer's post about the app brought in roughly a thousand new users over two days. The team then began recruiting influencers as quickly as possible and paying them to post. According to the founder, the outcome was predictable: each post reached a certain number of viewers, and a portion of them converted into users.

The company negotiated rates, promising payouts tied to a given scale of reach. Yadegari said many influencers are college-age creators who want cash, and they were asked to keep posting until a target was met. Choosing influencers whose reach could be quantified, and who had very tight-knit communities, was also key.

View on higher education

Yadegari, a Forbes 30 Under 30 alumnus, credited his family for giving him the freedom to pursue his ambitions. About college, he said the only real reason to go is to have a fun social time with other people.

New venture

This month Yadegari launched Persona, an AI agent startup that has already raised $10 million. Its stated mission is to make computing seamless with human life. The personal AI assistant is meant to live anywhere with an internet connection, including iMessage, an app, email and phone calls. The company also plans to build a hardware ecosystem around the app.