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That narrative doesn't quite align with the article stating that "for various reasons none of his friends were able to join the business." In retrospect all of Houston's friends made a huge mistake! Maybe Ferdowsi was tired of MIT and joined him on a lark? I am curious to hear the story from his perspective.

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Ferdowsi says joining was like scratching an itch here.[0] I've heard from alumni he spent a lot of time coding in his room, like more than average compared to your friendly neighborhood MIT student; I can imagine the prospect of high-risk, high-reward coding for 18 hours/day was very appealing.

[0] https://medium.com/the-story-of-grip/how-two-guys-that-barel...

from the article (medium, not BBC)

"The pair worked tirelessly for three months in a cramped office in Cambridge, waking up everyday at noon and working till dawn the next day. “I think we started like most of these tech companies begin. Just a couple of guys in their boxers coding in a dark room,” Houston says. “We just kept our heads down and built.”"

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