Hi, I'm Alex.
I love

And my addiction is learning.


Alex Badalyan Profile Photo
  • Badalyan skill expert Node.js
  • Badalyan skill expert Photoshop
  • Badalyan skill expert PHP
  • Badalyan skill expert Sketch
  • Badalyan skill expert MySQL
  • Badalyan skill expert Javascript
  • Badalyan skill expert User Interface User Experience design
  • Badalyan skill expert Unity
  • Badalyan skill expert HTML5

Here's my story...

But first, in sequence, the Big Bang, Stars, Elements, Molecules, Planets, Solar Systems, Life, Intelligence, Agriculture, and finally, the Modern Revolution. 
My infinitesimal story enters here...

Born in the USSR

Immigrated to USA




๐ŸŽค   Began rapping career

We are the average of the 5 closest people we surround ourselves with. This led me to a fun 3+ year career in rap music. Listen to a sample.

Biggest lesson: introduction to Mastery. 

๐Ÿ“š   Fell in deep love โ€” with learning

The internet (and software) is the most disruptive thing to humanity. I dropped out of College and became obsessed with life-long learning using the most powerful tool out there: the Internet.

Biggest lesson: +90% of every single question in our head can be (scientifically) answered within 60 seconds โ€“ holy shit.

๐Ÿš€   Co-founded my first company

We wanted to learn Computer Science, so we created Sharpup. We built websites, mobile apps, and custom software for some of Michigan's largest Hospitals, Insurance Agencies, Law Firms, Consumer Brands, and Non-profits.

Biggest lesson: the perfect time to learn a skill is the exact time we most need to know it.

๐Ÿ”ฎ   Co-founded a brain app

We forget 70% of everything we learn by the next day, so we built Thoughtback. A simple tool that helps people choose the ideas/thoughts they want to remember and then receive them later in the future. Over 5 million thoughts have been returned back to people.

Biggest lesson: our brains are programmable. Thoughts form our ideas, habits, and choices, so we must absolutely control this input.

๐Ÿ‘ป   Built a snapchat clone

Technology just amplifies human behavior. Since we can't pause or rewind real life conversations, we built a website (pre-snapchat) that allowed you to send one-time videos to friends. Our mediocre growth resulted in shutting down the project.

Biggest lesson: choosing the right platform is key. Go where the users are โ€” in this case, mobile.

๐Ÿ‘    Co-founded a healthy food biz

Cooking is slowly becoming a hobby, just as it did with hunting and farming. Since (healthy) food acquisition was our most frequent problem, we built Demand Food, an app that brought us healthy meals on-demand. After raising a Seed Round, achieving ~25% conversion, and growing 6-10% weekly, we ultimately halted the business due to its unsustainable business model.

Biggest lesson: timing is foundational to success. We concluded that once autonomous vehicles become ubiquitous, the margins will allow businesses like these to sustain.

๐Ÿ’ณ  Co-founded a Cryptocurrency

In the same way the Internet has decentralized information, the blockchain is decentralizing money. The implications are yet unknown, but if it's anything like the Internet, enormous power and effeciency will be given back to the people. One of the biggest problems in this nascent industry is usability, so we built Hey Wallet as a way to onboard the next wave of Web3 users.

Biggest lesson: to be determined :)

Read these books, in order...

After reading one book per week (for many years), I noticed the importance of reading specific books in order. Each book lesson builds on top of the other, resulting in linear clarity. 

VIEW THE READING LIST
Alex Badalyan's Favorite Books

Some things I've programmed
into my brain...

Imported directly from Thoughtback

View each person's brain as a search engine. Search away.


Electrons (electricity) always choose the path of least resistance. Emergently, humans too must need to follow this law.

Don't only learn new subjects, but new tools for learning those subjects.

Practice viewing the world in the opposite direction. E.g., Gravity isn't pulling me down...the earth is pushing me up.

Think of discipline as laziness leaving the body.


Every time I learn something new, imagine I'm teaching it to somebody else. Talk out-loud to maximize results.

My design philosophy...

From electrons to humans, everything gravitates towards the path of least resistance

Therefore, the world's greatest products make life feel frictionless.

VIEW MY DRIBBBLE
  • Alex Badalyan's Portfolio Snapchat
  • Alex Badalyan's Portfolio Unity Redesign
  • Alex Badalyan's Portfolio Typography
  • Alex Badalyan's Portfolio User Interface User Experience design

Want to work together?

let's start talking 

or just say hi on twitter!