Yahya Bouhlel started coding at the age of 13; he learned development on his own on the Net, on Google, and then on Youtube after January 2011, and participated in several forums.
Passionate about the Net, he developed sites on his own. The first programming language he learned was Java. He designed a small portfolio of projects: websites and video games.
Yahya Bouhlel was captivated by new technologies. He was able to quickly generate money through the development of sites for gamers and the online game axes that he codes.
At fifteen, he received the sum of US $ 250 for having made video game axes. This year, his brother sent him an article published by the Harvard Business review which talks about a start-up called “Make game with us” (gaming school) that wanted to recruit video game developers. He applied and at the time, the charm of post-revolutionary Tunisia was operating internationally, which greatly helped young talents who wanted to export.
At fifteen Yahya went to discover the temple of new technologies: Silicon Valley!
He spent 4 months there where he followed an internship at “Make game with us”, he created mobile video games and continued on this momentum until the age of 19, alternating 4-month internships at Silicon. Valley, competitions (15 times Silicon Valley in 4 years), and studies in Tunis.
Yahya Bouhlel has participated in nearly 55 decathlons throughout these years where he has seen his life transformed, enriched by new friends in the USA, the first steps in the world of work, and Tunisia his country. “I felt that there was a big gap in mentalities between the Americans and us Tunisians. In Silicon Valley, Steve Jobs was the example that families showed their children, it’s a very strong high-tech culture. With us, no entrepreneurial culture and parents are cautious, they do not encourage their children to try the adventure and create their own projects.”
The years 2013/2014 were good for Yahya, it was the start-up boom in the United States. “My life has changed, my dreams are different and my ambitions have become bigger”
At 19, Yahya launched Gomycode in a small room located in the headquarters of a large start-up at Lac 1.
For the record, the Tunisian subsidiary of Gomycode is the same one where he rented this small office to launch his start-up. 4 years later, he alone occupies the large building at Lac 1.
From Silicon Valley to the start-up’s headquarters in Holland via Tunis. A valiant heart nothing impossible.
