John Meyer, 19 years of age and a developer that dropped out from NYU to be able to do full-time work on his startup company Fresco News, has turned down job offers from companies such as Apple.
Meyer's parents did not support his decision at first, but had to eventually do so because of Meyer's success as an independent app developer.
Meyer has been developing apps since he was a high school freshman in 2008, after he taught himself the Objective C programming language. He has since begun making money from his programming the following year as a high school sophomore.
"Money-wise, I've been pretty fortunate. I've been able to support myself since just a year after I got started," he said in an interview with Business Insider.
Meyer's success in making money out of the apps that he has developed allowed him to live on his own and pay for his own tuition at NYU, while continuously working on Fresco News.
Fresco News combines features of Twitter, Instagram and Flipboard, which takes photos by regular people on scenes where big events occur and turns them into news articles.
Business Insider found out Meyer's income but did not reveal the figure.
"Let's just say it's on par with what software engineers earn at some of the best tech companies," wrote Business Insider's Julie Bort.
At only 19 years old, Meyer already has an impressive portfolio of apps that he developed. One of the apps is Just Light, which was a popular app for the iPhone 4 with downloads that reached the 2 million mark. The app, which simply only turns on the light of the camera's flash to work as a flashlight, could be the first of its kind. There is now a similar app included in the iPhone.
One of Meyer's most recent successes is Perfect Shot, which he released for the iOS 7 about a year ago. Downloads for the app reached 60,000 in the four days upon its release, with the figure now reaching 1 million. The app utilizes the eye and smile detection features of the camera of the iPhone to take perfect group pictures, at the exact moment when nobody in the group is blinking and everyone has a smile on their face.
Meyer's displays of creativity and innovation through his apps have caught Apple's attention. The company invited him to become an intern. While this is what most students dream of -- the stint also pays almost $6,000 per month -- Meyer turned down the invitation.
"I get emails from recruiters all the time, and this past summer an offer to intern at Apple," Meyer said.
"I am, at heart, an entrepreneur. I won't be happy working for someone else," he explained on why he turned down Apple's offer.
"If I wanted to, I'm sure they would offer me another internship," Meyer added, stating that he does have close relationships with several people working at Apple.
Meyer is currently working on getting more clients for Fresco News, which includes the Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. He is also busy with two more startups: one is a company that suggests alternatives to hostels and another a student-company bridge platform.
Meyer also has not ruled out returning to finish college in the future, but as of now, the 19-year-old is developing apps both for fun and profit.
