This narrative is derived from discussions with 21-year-old entrepreneurs Rudy Arora and Sarthak Dhawan, based in New York. Their remarks have been condensed for brevity and clarity.
Rudy Arora reflects on their initial aspirations, stating that their intent was never to create a million-dollar venture that would prompt them to drop out of college. Instead, they aimed to build a tool that they personally found valuable, market it modestly, and ideally earn enough to cover their college expenses.
Sarthak Dhawan shares their backstory, highlighting their friendship that began in middle school in the suburbs of Dallas. From an early age, they enjoyed experimenting with various projects together.
The concept for their app emerged from a struggle they encountered during their transition to college in 2023, where taking effective notes during lectures proved challenging. Rudy was a freshman at Northwestern University, while Sarthak enrolled at Duke University.
By January 2024, they had launched their app, and by March 2025, it was already generating nearly $500,000 monthly. Although they anticipated that their parents might think they were acting irrationally by dropping out of college—given their stellar academic environments—they felt it was the right choice for them.
At the end of their sophomore year, the duo transitioned to working on their app full-time, a decision they found straightforward—though Rudy mused that they might have waited too long to make the leap. He believes premature withdrawal from college could be a significant mistake, despite acknowledging that timing is crucial.
Sarthak recounts how he was introduced to coding by his brother in elementary school and developed his first major app project in high school—a version of his school district's grade-checking application that gained popularity across Texas. The joy of creating something beneficial to others inspired him to pursue this path long-term. Their entrepreneurial journey began in high school, where they created a platform to connect people with Christmas light installers, a venture sparked by their own family's challenges.
Despite the eventual decline of both the grade-checking app and the Christmas lights project due to a lack of continued effort, their current app was inspired by a personal hurdle they faced in college.
Rudy notes that one realization in college was the difficulty of effectively taking notes while paying attention to lectures. They recognized AI's potential to simplify dense text into more manageable formats and decided to build a product that merged these capabilities. Users could either record lectures or input materials for study, and the app would leverage AI to generate useful study aids like notes, flashcards, and quizzes.
Sarthak describes their rapid journey from concept to launch, which took about three or four months. They adopted a freemium model, with their initial marketing strategy involving the distribution of cookies to encourage students to download the app.
Rudy then leveraged TikTok to promote their app, posting multiple videos daily until one went viral, significantly boosting their visibility and user acquisition. To avoid dedicating all his time to content creation, he hired friends and creators to produce videos, creating a compensation system that rewarded viral successes.
Initially, they coded the app themselves during a time when AI coding frameworks were limited. Rudy recalls how they navigated the coding landscape with AI's assistance simply by posing questions to models like GPT. However, as their experience progressed and AI coding assistants improved, Sarthak noted that much of his time became focused on reviewing generated code rather than writing it himself. While the convenience of AI is undeniable, it comes with risks, such as a decline in coding proficiency.
Currently, their team comprises six full-time engineers, yet they manage to produce an impressive volume of product updates weekly—something previously unimaginable.
Rudy underscores that their main expenses revolve around salaries and marketing. The efficiency gained from AI has allowed them to maintain a lean operation while achieving earnings exceeding $13 million in lifetime revenue. Their small team structure has helped them avoid costly executive roles typically associated with scaling.
The decision to drop out came only after their startup gained significant traction. Rudy emphasizes the advantages of being in a college environment for networking and recruiting, while Sarthak appreciated the college experience but found balancing academics and entrepreneurship challenging.
The transition to full-time entrepreneurship became feasible once they left college, allowing them to hire dedicated employees. Both founders caution that dropping out without a solid foundation or clear direction can be risky, as many peers abandon education too early with just an idea rather than a well-developed business.
