I am a 24-year-old founder, Forbes 30 Under 30 technology honouree and physics grad from Imperial College London. My work has been featured by the likes of Sifted and Courier Magazine, and I have been a speaker at numerous conferences and universities including Cambridge University, Imperial College London, UCL, Kings College London and IIT.
My company, Clear, is fuelling innovation and empowering consumers in the skincare industry via data, technology and community. I was accepted to Y Combinator (W21) with the idea and subsequently raised ~$1M in venture funding for the company. We were also the 2022 L'Oréal Beauty Tech for Good winners, selected by Beiersdorf for the Beauty Tech Innovation Summit 2023, and were featured under "Best New Apps and Updates" on the iOS App Store in 2023.
Visit Clear's website getclearapp.com to download Clear for free on iOS & Android, and subscribe to my RU-vid channel to follow my journey building Clear!
Same for me! The only thing that helped was doxycycline, however, once off of it the acne came right back. I tried changing the foods I ate and nothing worked except for accutane.
First of all congrats Ahana! Very happy for you. I have a doubt, Did u go to San Fransico for the final in-person round ? Do they provide all the cost for that ? Can u pls give information on this
Thank you! I interviewed and did YC in 2021 when it was fully remote due to Covid, so no, I did not go to SF for interviews or for the batch. I'm not sure who pays for it now that it's back in-person, sorry.
Yoga is the best thing to do while on Accutane it kept me fit and toned and I had no muscle pain...It's safe to do while on Accutane and it relaxes your body.. Personal Tip💕☺️
Being on Accutane myself for 6 months I learnt a lot from eating right to doing the most simple skin care routine it's been 4yrs since I was on it.... So it's so nice to be watching you share your journey with Accutane 💕
I'm not a dermatologist, but in my experiece, 3 months feels like quite a long time. I'd maybe take a break from all actives (tret + BP) and see if your skin calms down first
Wow that is so cool Ahana! An investor we met last week told us we should apply to Y Combinator for our luxurious eco-village resorts project, and we don't know if they'll take entrepreneurs not focused on tech but who knows, worth a try, we will finish our application! 💖🌎😊
hi ahana, i'm an edtech founder i already have the demo of the platform right now i'm seeking for beta users through discord and expecting to apply to YC this fall but it is neccessary to show massive potential users? best wishes! <3
Hi! The more traction, the better. So, yes - I would double down on getting as many beta users as you can, demonstrating learnings from those early users, and showing the market is large.
I just subscribed, your success at 24 years old is truly inspiring and impressive. I'm a Software Developer and Entrepreneur and trying to make my dream come true. Also the mission of your company Clear really means a lot as I also grew up with acne. Anyways best wishes for your channel and continued success. // Getting into YC and a physics degree! 🤯
Thank you! To be honest, it’s a lot of work 😅. I work long hours, most weekends, and don’t really take holidays. Speaking engagements don’t take up much time (maybe one or two every other week, and I often don’t stay for the whole event), and I’ll prioritise the RU-vid content during times it makes most business sense
@@AhanaBanerjee Thank you for the reply! I was wondering if you'd be interested in taking this to make video ideas as well as some other questions I have: 1. What's your daily routine like/what's a typical week like? Do you have an exercise routine, if so how are you balancing this? 2. What made you make the decision to be entrepreneurial? My Asian parents wants me to go back into Medicine and it's a struggle to persuade them otherwise. 3. How do you structure your meetings/what do you think is the most balanced way to be efficient as well as build rapport? I find a lot of the meetings I have stretch out for too long and end up with people chatting about life (~10 man startup). If you were in this situation how would you bring it up without disrupting the rapport? 4. Do you deal with loneliness? I've sacrificed a lot to pursue this dream, cut ties etc and I feel an overwhelming sense of loneliness, especially late nights. How are you dealing with this or have you found a significant other? If so how so and what were your tactics/personality types that would work well to complement the entrepreneur? How do you also juggle spending time with them and work? 5. What is your approach to entrepreneurship? My first business was geared towards monetary goals and after achieving them and internal complications, it felt empty. I'm currently in another startup but I haven't found my vision/purpose and I feel like I'm going down the same cycle again. Thank you for your time!
By YouSum Live 00:00:00 Seizing Y Combinator opportunity with a novel idea. 00:00:11 Transition from academia to entrepreneurial journey. 00:01:02 Utilizing "Disciplined Entrepreneurship" for startup guidance. 00:01:16 Idea generation process: 100 ideas to one standout concept. 00:01:35 Quill: Automating meeting minutes for efficiency and insights. 00:01:57 Bold move: Applying to Y Combinator despite doubts. 00:02:45 Intense preparation for YC interview with alumni insights. 00:03:23 Initial feedback: Pushing to launch and gain traction quickly. 00:05:55 Pivoting to Hout: Leveraging personal insights for a new idea. 00:06:45 Intense last-minute prototype building for Hout. 00:07:49 YC acceptance: Turning a four-day-old idea into reality. By YouSum Live
@@AhanaBanerjee more types of hairoils and method of application in a single long video . Also if you keep talking during the video... we will feel more connected 🙏 thank you
I don't know, you'd have to ask your dermatologist. In my case, I was told there was a risk of purging again if I stop and start, which is why I just opted to continue with it
@@AhanaBanerjee feature request- can you add a filter for the community feed like gender, age group, skin shade etc and make notifications a little fun as reminders for skincare Just a request from a user
@@Candate Makes total sense - thank you for your feedback and suggestions! Adding filters for the community feed and making notifications more fun are both great ideas and are currently on our roadmap. We'd love to know how important these features are to you - your input helps us prioritise our development efforts :)
@@D.A.D.Nijisanji.ENjoyer If you look closely you can still see a little redness and some texture, but compared to what it was at the start of accutane, it's very minor. I had a good skincare routine throughout which also helped with the scars
@@AhanaBanerjee I had to appreciate you being sincere in answering an attack like that... nah.. not attack, you felt that it could have been a concern and validated the question and then answered. I have nothing but respect!
Fortunately my scarring is very minor! You can see it a little in the second pic when you look closely, but I had a good skincare routine throughout which helped to fade the scars
I am on my Accutane journal for little over two months now. It was quite difficult in the beginning. My main issue isn't with purging but with extreme dryness, damn crazy dryness. I got so itchy, my arms got bruises from tiny itching with my nails. I got worried that next time I see my dermatologist, they would stop my Accutane. Luckily they didn't. I am glad my body's initial response to Accutane is over and going smooth from then on. You look so beautiful after that bad of a purge. ❤❤❤ you gave me hope to carry on.😊
Thank you! Hang in there ❤ and be sure to always moisturise - I actually share quite a lot of my accutane tips on the tracking/ community app I built called “Clear Skincare” on the App Store. Hope it works for you too 🫶🤞
I hold the view that Y Combinator prioritizes founders. Could you elaborate on what criteria or aspects you highlighted to gain acceptance into Y Combinator? Was there a specific aspect of your proposal or approach that resonated with them?
You can check out my "How I got into YC" video, which goes through my whole journey. To summarise, I believe it was down to the speed of my progress and ability to adapt to changing circumstances. Specifically, with Clear, I went from idea, to 300 signups to a waitlist + 60 in depth user interviews + working prototype + 4 user demos in 4 days.
@@AhanaBanerjee That's impressive! Your ability to move quickly and adapt to changes definitely played a crucial role in your journey. I'll make sure to check out your "How I got into YC" video to learn more about your experience.
