Grew up in a small town and had to work extra hard to get my foot in the door working on cool tech startups. My first job at age 15 was fixing iPhone screens in the mall. Then I scooped ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery and bussed tables at a local airport restaurant to pay for college. 

After football practice in high school I'd be learning how to code on CodeAcademy. People thought I was a nerd. 

Fast forward 10 years -- I've built multiple apps, b2b SaaS, internet businesses, websites, and e-commerce businesses that have generated over $100m collectively. 

I got to work remotely, travel to 12+ countries, invest in real estate and stocks and built a fruitful living for myself. 

Learning how to build apps changed my life. Now I’m on a mission to teach 10,000 people how to build apps.

Alim Charaniya

In 2019, I joined PrizePicks as employee #19, Head Mobile Engineer, when the app only had 5000 users.

This weekend, we celebrated PrizePicks acquisition by Allwyn for a mind boggling $2.5 (potentially $4.15) BILLION DOLLARS!!! 

Ready for the story? Let’s go!

At the time I joined, we were regrowing through a hyper-scale phase — and there were no sports on TV.

Post-COVID, my parents thought I was crazy for joining a sports startup when the entire sports world had shut down.

But my little brother and I played $50 worth of PrizePicks… and immediately hit our first entry for a $150 profit.

That was the moment I knew: this thing was going to be big..

I still remember the call with Jay Deuskar  and Adam Wexler :

“Can you rebuild the entire PrizePicks mobile app in 10 weeks before football season?”

I said, “You bet I will.”

For the next 10 weeks, I worked 14-hour days rebuilding the entire mobile app from the ground up. At the time, we had about 2,000 weekly active users, and the business was staying alive through esports action.

We rebuilt:
• The entire onboarding flow
• The monetization engine
• The core mobile experience

The app only had 20 screens.

20 screens.

But those 20 screens powered the next $100M+ in revenue while I was hands on the app, every single day. 

I was watching thousands of users join PrizePicks every day, and our payment processor blasting, via an app that I built with Ziyan Prasla and Adam Blaschke  

From there, it was an absolute movie. A rollercoaster. Every month the chart just went up and to the right.

But what people don’t see are the downturns.

The stress.
The uncertainty.
The moments we could have sold.
The moments we didn’t know how much bigger this could get.

Adam Wexler  is one of the most relentless founders I’ve ever met. A visionary with ruthless conviction over the product. There were many times we could have exited early — but Adam always believed the TAM was bigger than anyone realized.

And he was right.

Over three years, we scaled from a scrappy team of 19 to 300+ employees. I eventually departed when the company had grown beyond the stage where I thrive most.

But that ride changed my life.

It changed my family’s life.

It rooted me in Atlanta — a vibrant, business-forward city where I plan to build for years to come.

I’ve met incredible investors.
Made lifelong friends.
And still to this day, people don’t believe me when I say I rebuilt the PrizePicks app.

I’ll wear PrizePicks on my chest for the rest of my life.

Before signing off, I need to thank:

My mom, my dad, my little brother, and my fiancée — for believing in me when the cash salary wasn’t glamorous and the bet felt risky.

Shoutout to Andrew Steinberg , Aaron Holland , and Robert S Beadle  for making the introduction when I needed a change after my first startup.

And most importantly, thank you to Adam Wexler  and Jay Deuskar  for taking a bet on me.

Shoutout PrizePicks.
Shoutout Atlanta.

On to building the next one. 🚀

Founder, CloserCoach.ai | Scaling Sales Teams With AI | Ex-PrizePicks Early Engineer

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Taza Snacks

Taza Snacks didn’t start in a lab or a commercial kitchen like many brands but rather started over 100 years ago. Founded by 19-year-old serial entrepreneur, Tahir Natha, he took the rich history behind the flavors he grew up with and transformed his grandmother's renowned recipes into a brand that promotes South Asian & East African heritage. Taza Snacks takes flavors from India, combined with the best ingredients from all around the world, brought together by roots in East Africa to provide you with a flavourful snacking experience unlike you’ve ever had before. All of our products are vegan, gluten-free, and packed with immense amounts of happiness. They say happiness is homemade and so are Taza Snacks.

Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder

Cashew

Strategy & Partnerships Manager

Cashew simplifies the entire market research process. Our technology gives marketers everything they need to do their own research. We’ve built a best-in-class mobile app for consumers to participate in market research studies and a self-serve portal for marketers to design and launch their studies to make that happen.

Strategy & Growth Associate

Taza Consulting

Taza Consulting is a full-service marketing and business development firm specializing in B2B companies across North and South America. We leverage innovative and out-of-the-box approaches, transforming existing industry concepts to help businesses stand out and achieve remarkable growth. We currently serve over 15+ companies across multiple sectors including FinTech, Financial Services, EdTech, and more.

Founder & Innovator

Evermark Financial

Evermark Financial, located in Calgary and the surrounding communities strives to make a positive impact towards our clients investments and estate planning needs. Our team prides our selves on our ability to help those in need of advice to structure a sounds financial plan. With over 20 years of experience between our team and from our varies backgrounds, has allowed us to understand the intricacies of the current financial market to ensure the businesses and families that we support are still on track to financial independence.

Director of Marketing And Business Development

Classy Imports Inc

Classy Imports Inc. Is one of the leading Canadian Manufacturers, Importers, and Distributors of truck stops, gas stations, and car wash products.

Founded in 1989, Classy Imports originally specialized in importing supplies contributing to the development of the automotive and novelty category in Canada.

Over the years, Classy Imports has significantly expanded and diversified its catalog to offer its customers a wide range of over 2000 products, many of which include products manufactured under their own six trademarks.

The company currently works with nearly 50 suppliers from all over the world and represents a portfolio of recognized brands in their home market such as, Armor-all, Mothers, Bic, Little Tree, Coghlans Prestone, and Scent Bomb, among many others.

Classy Imports has a sales office in Alberta and a Canada-wide sales force serving a network of more than one thousand customers, including truck stops, gas stations, car washes, independent stores, and convenience.

Advisor

LOI Accelerator

Founder of an innovative youth-led startup in the League of Innovations Labs national virtual accelerator program. League of Innovators (LOI) is a national Canadian charity with a goal of building entrepreneurial acumen for youth, at scale. LOI provides a suite of accessible programs, resources and tools to provide young innovators with educational experiences that shorten their path to success, empower their personal and professional development, and amplify their impact as future leaders and entrepreneurs.

Labs Batch 12 - Founder

Financy

Homeschooling redefined. Helping parents build curricula, lesson plans, assessments, and more through an AI-powered virtual assistant.

Sales Marketing Consultant

Taza Collections

Taza Collections is a local jewelry brand that creates affordable bracelets while using high-quality materials. Focused on creating change within the community through fashion, giving back to the community through partnerships with charities and community organizations. Starting in 2017 at the age of 13, the brand has grown to be a jewelry and clothing example for all young entrepreneurs.

Chief Executive Officer

Aga Khan Foundation Canada

The Aga Khan Foundation Canada (AKFC), is an international development organization and registered charity. Working in Africa and Asia, they tackle poverty on many fronts: improving access to quality education and health, increasing food security, creating economic opportunities for women and men, and building strong, resilient communities and local institutions.

In Canada, they promote discussion and learning on global issues, raise funds, tap into Canadian expertise to strengthen our development work and build partnerships with Canadian institutions. Since 1980, their programs have helped millions of people unlock their potential to build a better life.

Director of Corporate Engagement, World Partnership Walk

Launchcode

Launchcode is a local software development firm specializing in creating enterprise solutions to optimize business practices. Creating custom solutions, Launchcode is a driver of innovation for businesses of all sizes.

Social Media Manager

I’m a two-time founder with one early exit but I’ve been an entrepreneur some would say since I was born. From selling scribbles labeled as "artwork" to my grade one classmates for a dollar, through founding and selling my first company as a teenager, building and creating has always felt like the only path.

I knew the traditional track wasn't for me after living a life many in my age group are still yet to experience. At 18, instead of heading straight into university, I backpacked through 18 countries across Europe for two years. Every aspect of that framed my perspective today which is always guided by the idea of "seek discomfort". 

To keep the journey going, I became the “elusive consultant” (aka...the glorified freelancer on UpWorks) helping early and growth-stage companies within fintech, financial services, tech, and CPG with go-to-market strategy, marketing, and business development.

I am currently building and supporting two businesses:

Taza Snacks — I founded a South-Asian/East-African snack brand taking my grandmother’s beloved recipes and the flavors I grew up with into the broader Canadian marketplace, bringing actual flavour back to the shelf!

Cashew — I joined Cashew in the early days after the amazing founding team not only believed in a kid with limited years but supported Taza in growing! 

We're a market research platform that is making consumer research faster and more accessible so that brands no longer need to use gut instincts alone. By replicating the expertise of a researcher, companies can now speak to real people, to solve challenges bespoke to their brand and lead with insights.

Beyond business, community has been the foundation of my career for the length of my life. I’ve served on community and government organizations at the regional, national, and global levels, focusing on youth development, education, sport, and economic opportunity. 

I believe the most chance encounters often lead to the most serendipitous of moments so If you're a founder, operator, community-builder, or student who enjoys creating and connecting, let's go for a coffee, a drink, or a run!!

Tahir Natha

Who you surround yourself with is so important!

The best people I've met and the ones who've really helped me propel, have come from the most serendipitous encounters.

So I thought why can't I create these moments instead of waiting for them to show up.

That's why I'm hosting a dinner for strangers in Toronto on March 5th!

This first go is specifically for people under 30 who are building something, ambitious, or seeking spontaneity.

So if you're feeling a bit adventurous come have dinner with me and 20+ strangers!

Sign Up: https://luma.com/y1f6ye0v

#Toronto #DinnerWithStrangers #YoungFounders

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The Battle

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