Yusuf Sallam, 20
One Yes to Change Everything: How Yusuf Sallam Turned Hackathons into Venture Opportunities
For Yusuf Sallam, "you only need one yes for your life to change" is far more than a catchy phrase; it is the personal mission fueling his work. When Yusuf entered college at Rutgers University, he struggled to find a community of like-minded builders. He decided to take a leap of faith and enter his first collegiate hackathon, HackRU. Much to his surprise, he and his teammate won! There was no stopping them from there - every weekend became a new adventure traveling to hackathons across the country, couch surfing with friends to keep costs low, and gaining invaluable experience along the way.
When they set their sights on DandyHacks ‘24 at the University of Rochester, travel expenses threatened to derail their plans. Recognizing he had nothing to lose, Yusuf took an asymmetric risk and cold-emailed several Rutgers departments for funding. His initiative paid off with a travel stipend, enabling the team to attend and win Best Use of AI powered by Reach Capital. Part of their prize was a 30-minute consultation with venture capital firm Reach Capital. That brief call became the ultimate catalyst, opening doors to portfolio introductions, a paid contracting project, a summer internship, and an expanded investor network. The momentum continued at his next HackRU, where Yusuf was interviewed by Major League Hacking (MLH) alongside Reach Capital partners, and later invited to table for MLH at the MongoDB conference in NYC. There he met MLH CEO Mike Swift, who became a pivotal mentor. One whim, one decision, one email was the simple catalyst transforming a hackathon trip into a life-changing journey.
Driven by a firm belief in paying opportunities forward, Yusuf sought to solve the lack of startup and venture support he initially faced at the start of his college career. Alongside two of his closest friends, he helped restart the Rutgers Venture Capital Club to democratize access for students who couldn't afford to travel the country for industry exposure. Utilizing personal connections and relentless cold emails, they built a premier program that now bridges early-stage founders with investors - sourcing promising student startups directly for top-tier firms including Reach Capital, a16z, First Round, and Johnson & Johnson's venture arm.
Before navigating the venture world, Yusuf’s tech journey began with everyday curiosity. He spent much of his childhood exploring digital platforms like Roblox. His relationship with technology fundamentally shifted in seventh grade after taking a summer coding course that awakened a new fascination. With this new perspective, he crossed the bridge from consumer to creator - learning hardware fundamentals, boolean logic, and teaching himself Java to build small games for friends during covid lockdowns. High school sparked a deeper obsession with cybersecurity, revealing the double-edged nature of code and the precision needed to safeguard systems. “I fell in love with programming and building when I realized that I could leverage it as a means to express my creativity while benefiting those around me in a scalable fashion,” Yusuf explains.
As his skills matured, he translated that drive into solving real-world problems around him. Yusuf built custom applications to resolve his high school's administrative bottlenecks - such as attendance tracking and dismissal procedures - and scaled BCACTF, an international cybersecurity competition with thousands of annual participants across 7 countries, sourcing sponsorships from organizations like Google and DigitalOcean.
Yusuf brings the same creative energy to his personal passions. An avid photographer and videographer, he makes it a personal mission to document his trips - turning the footage into vlogs as time allows. He taught himself how to do a handstand and recommends everyone (safely) try to learn too. Typing 205 WPM, Yusuf currently ranks in the top 750 in the world on MonkeyType. Dedicated to guiding early-stage builders, Yusuf regularly returns to speak to his former high school clubs and reminds everyone that you should always "bet on yourself."
To Yusuf, the value of a hackathon extends far beyond the software produced: “More than anything, hackathons taught me the value of identifying asymmetric risk-to-reward and the power of always asking rather than being afraid of rejection,” Yusuf reflects. “Put yourself out there! Often, you only need one yes for your life to change."
Quick Facts
Yusuf Sallam, 20
One Yes to Change Everything: How Yusuf Sallam Turned Hackathons into Venture Opportunities
For Yusuf Sallam, "you only need one yes for your life to change" is far more than a catchy phrase; it is the personal mission fueling his work. When Yusuf entered college at Rutgers University, he struggled to find a community of like-minded builders. He decided to take a leap of faith and enter his first collegiate hackathon, HackRU. Much to his surprise, he and his teammate won! There was no stopping them from there - every weekend became a new adventure traveling to hackathons across the country, couch surfing with friends to keep costs low, and gaining invaluable experience along the way.
When they set their sights on DandyHacks ‘24 at the University of Rochester, travel expenses threatened to derail their plans. Recognizing he had nothing to lose, Yusuf took an asymmetric risk and cold-emailed several Rutgers departments for funding. His initiative paid off with a travel stipend, enabling the team to attend and win Best Use of AI powered by Reach Capital. Part of their prize was a 30-minute consultation with venture capital firm Reach Capital. That brief call became the ultimate catalyst, opening doors to portfolio introductions, a paid contracting project, a summer internship, and an expanded investor network. The momentum continued at his next HackRU, where Yusuf was interviewed by Major League Hacking (MLH) alongside Reach Capital partners, and later invited to table for MLH at the MongoDB conference in NYC. There he met MLH CEO Mike Swift, who became a pivotal mentor. One whim, one decision, one email was the simple catalyst transforming a hackathon trip into a life-changing journey.
Driven by a firm belief in paying opportunities forward, Yusuf sought to solve the lack of startup and venture support he initially faced at the start of his college career. Alongside two of his closest friends, he helped restart the Rutgers Venture Capital Club to democratize access for students who couldn't afford to travel the country for industry exposure. Utilizing personal connections and relentless cold emails, they built a premier program that now bridges early-stage founders with investors - sourcing promising student startups directly for top-tier firms including Reach Capital, a16z, First Round, and Johnson & Johnson's venture arm.
Before navigating the venture world, Yusuf’s tech journey began with everyday curiosity. He spent much of his childhood exploring digital platforms like Roblox. His relationship with technology fundamentally shifted in seventh grade after taking a summer coding course that awakened a new fascination. With this new perspective, he crossed the bridge from consumer to creator - learning hardware fundamentals, boolean logic, and teaching himself Java to build small games for friends during covid lockdowns. High school sparked a deeper obsession with cybersecurity, revealing the double-edged nature of code and the precision needed to safeguard systems. “I fell in love with programming and building when I realized that I could leverage it as a means to express my creativity while benefiting those around me in a scalable fashion,” Yusuf explains.
As his skills matured, he translated that drive into solving real-world problems around him. Yusuf built custom applications to resolve his high school's administrative bottlenecks - such as attendance tracking and dismissal procedures - and scaled BCACTF, an international cybersecurity competition with thousands of annual participants across 7 countries, sourcing sponsorships from organizations like Google and DigitalOcean.
Yusuf brings the same creative energy to his personal passions. An avid photographer and videographer, he makes it a personal mission to document his trips - turning the footage into vlogs as time allows. He taught himself how to do a handstand and recommends everyone (safely) try to learn too. Typing 205 WPM, Yusuf currently ranks in the top 750 in the world on MonkeyType. Dedicated to guiding early-stage builders, Yusuf regularly returns to speak to his former high school clubs and reminds everyone that you should always "bet on yourself."
To Yusuf, the value of a hackathon extends far beyond the software produced: “More than anything, hackathons taught me the value of identifying asymmetric risk-to-reward and the power of always asking rather than being afraid of rejection,” Yusuf reflects. “Put yourself out there! Often, you only need one yes for your life to change."
