Podcast 🎧 - Amazon's New Nemesis: How a 21-Year-Old Hit $1M ARR By Gaming Big Tech Engineering Interviews

Hey there,

The newest episode of The Startup Growth Podcast is live!

Listen to the episode here.

In this episode, I chat with Roy Lee, the 21-year-old founder and CEO of Interview Coder. Roy shares his journey from getting accepted to Harvard, having his offer rescinded, spending a year in solitude learning to code, attending community college, and eventually transferring to Columbia. He discusses how he and his co-founder developed Interview Coder, a tool that helps people pass technical interviews for top tech companies. Roy explains how the tool went viral, generating significant controversy and leading to a conflict with Amazon and Columbia University.

We dive into the growth of Interview Coder, which reached $10,000 in monthly recurring revenue before going viral on social media and skyrocketing its MRR. Roy also talks about his experience with the Z-Fellows program and how it helped kickstart his entrepreneurial journey. The episode concludes with Roy discussing his new startup, Pike, which aims to apply the AI experience breakthroughs from Interview Coder to a broader range of conversational applications. Throughout the conversation, Roy's risk-taking attitude and entrepreneurial spirit shine through, offering listeners valuable insights into the world of tech startups and the challenges faced by young founders.

Key takeaways:

• High School Years, Harvard Rescission and Community College

• Transfer to Columbia and Birth of Interview Coder

• Going Viral and Monetization

• Amazon Video and Controversy

• Columbia's Response and Legal Implications

I hope you find this educational content valuable and can apply it in your business.

David Phillips

Founder & CEO at Fondo

LinkedIn | Twitter/X