‘When I was 13, I honestly didn't know what to do with life,’ boAt's Aman Gupta says today’s generation is a “different” breed

Entrepreneur and boAt co-founder Aman Gupta has sparked a wider conversation on India’s evolving startup culture with a reflective LinkedIn post that contrasts his own childhood with the ambition and clarity he sees in today’s teenagers.

Aman Gupta backs 13-YO entrepreneur

Gupta recalls his own life at 13 as uncomplicated and familiar to many of his generation, with school, homework, and evenings spent playing gully cricket.

Career clarity or startup dreams were not part of that world. But according to him, today’s 13-year-olds are “a different breed.” 

Armed with confidence, access to technology, and an early understanding of problem-solving, they are building real products long before most adults discover their strengths.

In the current season of Shark Tank India, Gupta encountered a 13-year-old founder pitching an AI startup. Schoolboy Jaiwardhan Tyagi pitched his AI-enabled assistive medtech platform, Neurapexai.

He impressed the Sharks — Kunal Bahl, Namita Thapar, Vineeta Singh, Ritesh Agarwal, and Aman Gupta, right from the start.

What impressed Gupta was not just the age or the technology, but the founder’s mindset. There was no “fake gyaan” or exaggerated confidence but clear thinking, a strong vision, and an evident hunger to learn.

Jaiwardhan’s Neurapexai, founded a year ago, is an AI-enabled assistive medtech platform for analysing MRI scans, lab reports, images, and medical history to generate clear, actionable reports. The tool is currently available for free for users. The 13-year-old founder’s ask to launch the product was Rs 60 lakh for 5% equity, valuing the company at Rs 12 crore. 

Though the other Sharks questioned the AI platform, Gupta chose to support the young entrepreneur.

“If this is what 13 looks like today,” Gupta wrote while concluding the post, “the future isn’t coming… it’s already here.”

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