14d • General discussion
Introduction!
Hey guys, i’m a grade 10 pre ib student studying in canada and right now I'm most excited about building AI products that solve real problems for real users. I built Kairo, a platform that helps students organize extracurriculars — and hit 80+ active users in 1 month. I won first place at the Game for Change Game Jam at HKU by developing Reef Defenders, a WebCam hand-tracking game where you physically swat away plastic pollution to protect coral. Built it solo in 6 hours competing against university teams — judges said the working demo was the key differentiator. I also compete in case competitions (placed 2nd/60+ teams at Strive) where I build functional product demos under time pressure, like a Deepseek manufacturing marketplace connecting non-Chinese entrepreneurs to Chinese factories.
I'm also a competitive tennis player (team captain) where I've trained mental resilience under pressure, the same mindset I use when building products on tight deadlines. Tennis taught me flow state and trusting instincts, which directly translates to how I code in deep 2+ hour sessions.
The tension I'm navigating: I have multiple strong areas (tennis, case comps, AI building) but I want to go deeper on something I can work on daily with measurable impact, which is why I'm currently building a new platform that gives students AI-powered admissions feedback on their activities. But i’m not sure if i should continue because the demand for the product and its retention is not there…
And the biggest question is that I think I'm spread across too many things. Tennis has been a huge part of my life—I'm team captain and I've put serious work into the mental game, but case competitions only happen once a month or two, and hackathons are the same. I want to focus on something I can work on every single day and actually make impact with, which is why I've been leaning harder into AI and tech work recently. I'm building a platform right now that helps students organize their activities and get AI-powered admissions feedback. I guess I'm trying to figure out how to cut down and commit without losing the things that got me here. Would love any direction on how to think about that.
By the way since i’m going into IB next year, one thing for sure is that I will be cutting down on tennis.
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Introduction!
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