Why Did I Start a Business?

Here's how I became interested in starting a business...

In around April of 2025, I became interested in the idea of launching a clear protein powder line. I'm a regular weightlifter, but I didn't even know that clear protein was an option until years into my gym journey. At times, I can be the type of person that shrugs and says "Fine, I'll do it myself."

When I wanted to party on a private boat for my 24th birthday party, I found a way for all of us to split the cost of renting a boat (~$50 per person). When I wanted to change up my look, I cut and dyed my own hair.

In a hyper fixated state, I pushed forward with this idea for a clear protein powder line. I called it "The Protein Potion". I borrowed a book from the library to help me write up a business plan, and I sent it to the most successful I knew. In high school, I earned a scholarship for a robotics summer camp from a foundation that he, Julian Cheng, founded with his family.

He told me that introducing me to the food and beverage industry would be like sending "a lamb to slaughter" and that I was too "cerebral" for the business space. I took his advice to heart and pivoted away from the beverage industry. At the same time, he offered to allow me to meet a colleague whose business was in the early stages so that I could see what it's like to start a business.

This encounter with the business world piqued my interest. I continued to borrow more books at the library about business. I highly recommend The Almanack of Naval Ravikant by Eric Jorgenson and Business Brilliant: Surprising Lessons from the Greatest Self-Made Business Icons by Lewis Schiff.

Growing up, I was always interested in social media. Over the years, I've accumulated tens of thousands of followers across almost any social media you can think of: Tumblr, TikTok, Ask.fm, Quotev, Twitter, Instagram, etc. I started to find myself interested in involving this aspect of my life into my exploration into the world of business.

This switch from a physical product to SaaS would be a major decision for me. My background is in engineering; I can easily learn how to code something myself without having to wait for someone to invest in my business. I had no real hobbies aside from meeting with friends and thus plenty of free time. I started to read books in other genres that were interesting to me: game theory, communication, social media marketing, consumer psychology. I enjoyed Platform Revolution: How Networked Markets Are Transforming the Economy―and How to Make Them Work for You, recommended to me by my partner who had the book assigned to him when he attended the USC Marshall School of Business.

I needed a differentiating factor for my social media platform to make it stand out from the competitors. For a few months, I tried on the idea of implementing AI somehow, but this ended up being a waste of time. It felt too inauthentic. I was stumped for a while, until my library hold on The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business by Josh Kaufman finally came. I had seen an interview on Kaufman on YouTube a few weeks prior and requested the book immediately. While reading, I learned about factors that make a business idea a good one. I reverse engineered this checklist to come up with the idea of Chirp: a gamified social media platform that combines text-first social media and gacha games.

I keep an extensive journal on my journey, and in it you'll find that my definition of Chirp changes wildly over time. I've added and removed more features than I can count. Starting to work on Chirp's code and initial marketing on my own has helped me to refine my idea and understand the path that I need to take.

I have many, many thoughts on the development of Chirp and where my project is headed. This is just the beginning.