From the depths of his parents' basement to the heights of startup stardom. David Park’s journey is kind of like the saying: "When life gives you lemons, make AI-powered lemonade."

Here's the story, told on the youtube channel Starter Story, about how David (and Henry Mao) got rich, with Jenni AI. That is....$25m kind of rich!

The Early Struggles

David's first entrepreneurial foray was at 16 with a clothing brand that flopped (been there done that, I feel you David).

Well, he kept hustling. His parents, betting on a safer future, sent him to college with dreams of him becoming a lawyer or doctor. But David, feeling like a square, dropped out to follow his startup dreams. Who needs a degree when you have a basement and a dream?

Meeting His Partner in Crime

Enter Henry Mao. They tried numerous ventures, all of which crashed and burned spectacularly. They eventually stumbled upon GPT-2, an AI language model. The technology's potential inspired them to create Jenni.ai, an AI app designed to help agencies write better content.

The Birth of Jenni.ai

Building Jenni.ai was pretty hard. David handled sales while Henry coded like a mad.

Cold-calling agencies from his parents' home, David faced rejection after rejection, but his persistence paid off. When GPT-3 was released in 2020, it brought a wave of interest in AI, giving Jenni.ai some much-needed traction. However, growth plateaued at $2,000 a month in revenue, prompting David to delve deeper into user feedback and refine the product.

A Miracle and a Turning Point

Just as David was ready to sell his soul, a miracle happened. A scout for Jason Calacanis heard David on a low-key podcast and handed him a $100,000 seed investment. 

After living off Ramen and whatever his parents put on the dinner table, this felt crazy to him. But instead of splashing out, they (David and Henry) imidiately relocated to Malaysia to reduce costs and focus on scaling Jenny.

Now, after, iterating and using social media to drive growth, this was when they started to get some traction.

Overcoming Personal and Professional Challenges

Just as Jenny got some serious traction, David got cancer. Surgery was daunting, his dreams and nightmare's were happening at the same time. Post-surgery, he realized Jenni.ai needed solid product-market fit to survive without him at the helm. He hired a team, focused on marketing, and leaned into TikTok and Instagram to drive growth.

Achieving Success

A viral Twitter thread catapulted Jenni.ai’s user base, turning it into a runaway success. Offers to sell poured in, but David held firm, believing the startup could soar higher. He was right. Jenni.ai’s revenue hit over $3 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR), with a valuation between $10 to $30 million.

Here's the Video from Starter Story: