Dilan
Lieberman

The bracelet shop

My first ever business was selling loom bands. I would set up outside my house in a Spider-Man costume, which, looking back, was actually a visual hook.

Kids don't buy kites. Parents do.

I would fly it up to the maximum height, wait until a kid came over and looked up, and let them hold it. As the parent came over, I would pitch them the kite for 20 quid. It worked so well.

Lemonade

I would set up on the hottest days of the year, print out flyers the days before, and get my sister down, because she was even younger and cuter than I was. If you buy a lemonade cup, you're gonna get a Haribo for free.

A laptop in class

I have ADHD, which means that I was always allowed to have a laptop with me in class. I tried five or six different business models: a clothing brand, trading, e-commerce. I just kept trying, and eventually I found my way to SMMA.

I never wore my tie. I've just never been the same as everybody else.

The gym

I used to watch One Punch Man, and he does 100 push-ups every single day. I was doing 100 to 180 push-ups a day at 13. My goal wasn't just to get big. It was: let me become the youngest ever person to beat Mr. Olympia.

Seven 9s, self-taught

Across the Christmas holiday, I taught myself every single syllabus, to prove to myself that I could. I got seven 9s in all the subjects I truly cared about. The other two, I got one mark off.

There's no way I'm going to let a set of numbers determine what I'm capable of.

The bet

I knew that I could get into any of the best universities. Instead, I dropped out. I borrowed $6,000 from my dad and started a marketing agency in the US for contractors.

Every single piece of profit went back into education. I dropped out, but I never stopped learning.

Two worlds

My dad is an Ashkenazi Jew, and my mom is an Indian Hindu. I grew up between two very different cultures, and I have a network all across the United States already.

Zing

I've met guys just like me. They saw an Instagram reel, bought a course, opened their MacBook and started making money online. My term for them is a Laptop Founder.

So I'm building Zing for founders like me. The first 100 users are going to be my friends, and the next 100 are going to be their friends.

Why the Academy

I dropped out, but I value education more than anything, and I value being different. To be one with 49 others who get to experience a syllabus different to everyone on the planet would be an opportunity which would allow me to change the world.