How This Founder Started A Million Dollar Startup Before He Graduated High School

Halfcode is an artificial intelligence (A.I.) company started in 2017 by young entrepreneur Richard Black, whose vision for his new company is to empower those who are most in need all around the world by developing AI products to make a huge difference in their lives

17-years-old Halfcode founder Richard Black

Halfcode is an artificial intelligence (A.I.) company started in 2017 by young entrepreneur Richard Black, whose vision for his new company is to empower those who are most in need all around the world by developing AI products to make a huge difference in their lives. At just 17 years old, Richard has the breadth of vision and the determination which is the hallmark of entrepreneurs and innovators alike, and this can be seen in both his products and his commitment to a better global future.

What Does Halfcode Do?

Halfcode’s speciality is wearable smart technology, and a recent product launch is for the visually and hearing impaired. The product consists of glasses which are powered by AI smart technology which allows people to engage in conversation and discourse and be part of the conversation through captions, so that they can contribute and be involved where before such interaction would have been impossible. By empowering people to see what they cannot hear, Richard’s latest product allows users of the new smart glasses to participate in normal activities such as going to the theatre or engaging in debate, endeavours which would have been quite out of their reach previously.

On Being a Social Entrepreneur

The social entrepreneurship that drives Richard’s insight is underpinned by the support he has received from his parents, who have always encouraged him from an early age. Richard has a strong sense of social responsibility as an entrepreneur, and is passionate about contemporary issues including gun violence and discrimination in its various forms. Halfcode has recently launched a new initiative called AI Against Gun Violence, and it is urging others in the AI industry to ban together to work on smart AI technology to assist in lessening gun violence. Likewise, Richard is assisting efforts to put pressure on the politicians by lobbying for more common sense gun laws.

Richard is well aware of the dichotomy of social responsibility and business success, and that it’s sometimes difficult to achieve a balance between the two in practice. However, success in business and as a responsible global citizen are far from being mutually exclusive, and he believes that he can make a positive impact on the world by embracing both. But it isn’t enough to just talk about it; you have to do something about it as well, he insists. His parents also taught him not to be afraid of taking the kind of risks that lead to positive results.

Take Risks

“Risks are where the rewards are,” says Richard, noting that, even though he was discouraged to take risks in regard to his health, a measured element of risk-taking was nevertheless necessary if he wanted to succeed. And what about the risk of failure? He sees failure as an opportunity to learn from the mistakes that brought that failure about. Whatever the pain at the time, one should use such lessons as part of the curriculum at the School of Hard Knocks, and work smarter because of it. “Never be afraid to fail,” says the young entrepreneur. “Life is too short for that. It reminds me of something Bill Gates said about success being a lousy teacher.”

Be Persistent

Persistence, as well as taking risks and not being afraid of failure, is the third skill you need to have if you want to be a successful entrepreneur. You can only achieve success in business, Richard says, if you persist in what you do. Never giving up is the one thing that you must adhere to. He explained this as a metaphorical brick wall of something that you need to chip away at. You keep chipping away for a long time and yet nothing seems to happen; then the thousandth time you chip at it, it starts to fall away, then the whole structure suddenly collapses all at once. It is the tenacity that drives you to that level of persistence that will eventually see you through to your goal.

Help for the Visually & Hearing Disabled

Already the prospects for Halfcode’s smart glasses look very bright indeed, with its well-conceived attributes and specifications that could benefit literally millions of people right across the globe who suffer from both vision and hearing impairment. The company’s mission to allow such people to reclaim their independence and dignity is just the start of what could be possible. So much so that it is difficult for Richard to foresee what the future holds for him and his growing company in ten or even five years from now. “Right now we’re in talks with investors to raise capital,” he says, “so the challenge will soon come when we start growing faster.” Richard worries about how to maintain their social vision, while appeasing investors. But whatever the future holds, Richard wants to continue building exciting products that are socially-conscious and become a disruptive player in the AI sector.

Running a Start-up from High School

He is realistic about what the day-to-day running of a start-up is like. Some days are better than others, while there are days which feel like a real grind. But having a passion for what you are doing, and for the things you are trying to achieve, drive things along and provide the impetus for progression, no matter the circumstances. His view of this is both philosophical and realistic: if you ask yourself what you’d like to be doing, even if you weren’t being paid for it, because you love doing it that much you would do it for nothing, then you know that you’ve found your calling in life.

It isn’t all straightforward, though. At that age, the day is divided between running the start-up and his high school work. The inevitable commitment to school work means that he often finds himself working lots of nights and weekends, racking up the hours sometimes into a 90 hour week. The healthy life-work balance sought by most people in his case is a school-work balance. But Richard’s natural curiosity and his love of the fast pace of a business start-up means that he is able to take everything in his stride while doing justice to both these important parts of his life. In the final analysis it is his passion for getting things done that makes everything work so well.

College and Beyond

As the young CEO of an emerging tech company, Richard thrives on the excitement and adrenaline of what he does on a day to day basis. Naturally enough, for a young man of his age, he is now thinking about college. Here again, two forces are present; on the one hand, a passion for his work and for making the world a better place through technology, and on the other, his very grounded view that education is of paramount importance. In his senior year of high school, college is on the horizon. “Ideally,” he says, “I’d like to attend a college that has a focus on business and also encourages young people to make a difference in this world.”

With such a positive and spirited perspective and mindset, who knows what the future holds for this talented young entrepreneur.