Editor's note: This year we honored some of the brightest young minds in the Bay Area innovation sector as part of our Inno Under 25 feature. Check out all the profiles from this year's honorees here.
Mir Ali Zain has already founded two startups and sold one before starting his junior year as a data science major at the University of San Francisco. He won a pitch competition organized by the university this year for his first company, LexEdge, which leveraged artificial intelligence to comb through legal documents. He sold LexEdge for an undisclosed amount to another startup.
Zain, 20, has already founded another company called PrepHaven, which makes an AI-powered studying app to help prepare students for the International English Language Testing System, or IELTS, an English-language proficiency test.
As you grow PrepHaven, what will some of the biggest challenges be?
We’re building off of other people’s tech, whether it’s OpenAI, Anthropic, etc. That’s always going to be a limiting factor. And even adoption — how do humans interact with AI? What does that look like in the education space? Does technology proceed or advance far enough that the average person in developing countries has access to these kinds of tools? It’s a matter of technological barriers and adoption rates, and what the future looks like for human-AI interaction.
What is it like running and selling companies while you’re also going to school full-time?
It’s not been easy. If I’m not at the office, I’m in lectures, which I’ve missed a lot, too. I’ve had absolutely zero campus social life. I was skipping meals to get more work done, completing assignments right before they were due and asking for extensions. It was crazy, but I actually really, really loved the grind. I loved going to work and the 40-minute commute from campus to the office on the bus. There was never a time where I felt like, “Oh my god, I hate this.” I was doing it because I loved it.
How do you find balance?
I think priorities is a better way to look at it. Like, ruthlessly prioritize. I have a meeting with, let’s say, an investor. I have homework. What’s more important to me and more valuable for me? After that’s taken care of, I go down the list. That’s where I was able to find peace, and I was able to do my best work.
What are your three must-have apps?
TikTok, it's just so fun and addicting. ChatGPT — I've become so reliant on it. And this app called Blok, it's a focus app. There's a manual block that's super far away on my desk and it won't let me open Instagram until I go to that physical block and tap on it to unlock the social media apps. It's a productivity booster for me.
About Ali
Age: 20
Education: Pursuing a bachelor's, University of San Francisco
Residence: San Francisco
Role: CEO and founder
Companies: LexEdge and PrepHaven
