CEO reveals why hiring a 20-year-old with no experience became his best bet: No fancy resume, just a simple DM changed everything

Tanay Kothari, CEO of WisprFlow.ai, has sparked a debate on hiring practices after sharing an incident of how he hired a 20-year-old with no experience and it turned out to be one of his best decisions. Sharing the story on X (formerly Twitter), Kothari wrote, “We hired a 20-year-old engineer with no experience… it was one of the best decisions we made.” The 20-year-old enthusiast impressed the entire tech team, proving that passion and dedication matter far more than a perfect CV.

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How a simple DM changed everything

Tanay Kothari in his post revealed the young engineer didn’t apply through traditional channels. Instead, he sent a direct message expressing admiration for the company and a strong desire to work with the team. “This kid DM’d me on Twitter… said he loved WisprFlow.ai and wanted to work with us,” Kothari shared. Intrigued, the CEO asked him to come to the office within two hours. What followed surprised him.


"It was 10am on a saturday. i was in the office. i replied: "come by in two hours." he showed up. we talked for 45 minutes. smart kid, no fancy resume. i told him about a project that would normally take a day and a half. asked if he wanted to start monday. he said "i'll start now," the post read.

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By the next morning, the work was done. Kothari revealed that the candidate had completed “thousands of lines of code” overnight and delivered a fully functioning feature, leaving the team impressed.

"by sunday morning he texted me: "tanay, i just pulled an all-nighter. it's done. thousands of lines of code. fully functioning feature."

From no experience to standout performer

Tanay Kothari said that the young engineer has since become one of the highest-performing members of the team despite having no prior experience, earning respect from colleagues across the company. The CEO also reflected on hiring practices, noting that many founders focus too heavily on credentials, such as where someone went to school or previous work experience.

Reflecting on the experience, Kothari said that many companies focus too heavily on resumes, degrees, and past experience. However, this incident changed his perspective. “The best hires aren’t the ones with the perfect resume… they’re the ones who do more than what’s asked,” he noted. The story highlights a growing shift in the tech industry, where skills, initiative, and attitude are increasingly valued over formal credentials.

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Talent matters more than experience

The CEO's post quickly gained traction online, with many users praising the young engineer’s dedication and calling the story inspiring. Some users noted that “passion beats experience,” while others pointed out that in today’s fast-evolving tech landscape, raw talent and curiosity can often outperform traditional qualifications.

Many X users called the young engineer “inspiring” and “proof that talent matters more than experience. One of the users commented, “Experience matters, but so does hunger.”

A second user commented, “The question as a founder becomes: how and where do you find the people as crazy as you are?” A third user commented, “Sometimes passion beats experience. Fresh eyes can point out what veterans miss.”

“I think post AI hiring younger talent could indeed be more beneficial than ever,” another user commented.