I’m Pim, I founded the Doctors without Borders & Google Ebola-proof tablet project, started as a YouTuber, previous 6-year CEO of a gaming company, and I'm 20, AMA.

Your "Gaming company" was an illegal runescape private server? Whahahaha this guy...

Edit: OP maybe you should clarify why you think it was not illegal. Didn't you blatantly infringe on intellectual property and earned money from it with micro transactions and advertisements?

It's illegal as hell.

1: He didn't have an operations license to use that game engine from Jagex. Those tend to run anywhere from $15k-25k A YEAR. I'm sure this kid made money, but not the 90k+ to sustain it legally.

2: The only reason he hasn't been arrested is because of where he's based out of. The Netherlands really doesn't care about piracy at the level that other countries do....

3: Most importantly, I'm sure he has a warrant out for his arrest in a couple of countries. This is likely why "So many people" come to him, rather than the other way around. He knows that if he comes to the states; he wouldn't make it out of the airport without handcuffs.

Note: I attempted to run a Lineage II private server in 2006, which became semi-popular for a short time. After two emails from NCSoft and a certified letter from their law office, I considered shutting it down. When the FBI came to my job, asking about my involvement in it, that helped accelerate my decision on its future.

This young man should be lucky he lives where he lives. He'd be a prisoner right now anywhere else.

But he is living in Florida right now...

Sounds like he needs to haul ass back to the Netherlands before the FBI gets involved.

IIRC, they don't even get notified unless the company has been defrauded by over $10,000 over X amount of years. Pretty sure this youngster exceeded that.

Yeah... His LinkedIn page says it was a "multimillion dollar company serving over 3 million people".

copy: You can look up our tax returns and employment statements in The Netherlands. You do not have any type of insights in our company, so it is not right for you to judge about how we operate. As I mentioned, we did not do anything illegal or fraudulent and did not commit any type of IP infringement.

This is quite some accusation you are making. You can look up our tax returns and employment statements in The Netherlands. We really did not operate any type of fraudulent business and have no idea why you would make such statements. You do not have any type of insights in our company, so it is not right for you to judge about how we operate. As I mentioned, we did not do anything illegal or fraudulent and did not commit any type of IP infringement.

As I mentioned, we did nothing illegal, and so I have nothing to worry about.

Just because this is your position does not mean it is mine. As I mentioned, we operated legally. There was nothing bad or shady about what we did, and while I can not disclose specifics, I can swear that we did nothing illegal. You can either take that and trust me, or go on a rant against me, frankly that's up to you.

Let me know if you have any actual questions.

So what I can tell you is that it definitely wasn't an illegal runescape private server. Don't judge by what you see :-)

It actually wasn't illegal at all :-)

How can you possibly have founded MSF? If you are 20, it was founded 20 years before you were born! I read about it in high school.

I just looked up the Ebola proof tablets and it says tech volunteers developed it-you aren't mentioned anywhere in the first 4 articles I read.

I never claimed I started MSF. The URL just unfortunately cut off.

I never stated that I founded MSF. Sorry for the confusion.

Here you go :-) bbc.co.uk/news/health-31970731

Also MSF's own press release: https://www.artsenzondergrenzen.nl/ontdekken/verhalen/anoniem/ebola-proof-tablet

Also google my name on Google news, you'll see about 1000 sources that shows my name.

Pim, never heard of ya, you seem like an ambitious fellow, but my question has to be why is every question/comment getting downvoted? Are there people who feel you've embellished anything? I am also very interested in your family background, do you think you would still be as successful if your family had less financial resources? Are they "rich?"

I have no idea why he's being downvoted so much. If I had to guess it would seem to be, like many successful/pseudo successful people, he doesn't give enough credit to his background and parental / financial support that allowed him time and a clear path to doing successful things. Every successful person wants to tell a story of raising themselves up by their own bootstraps (or omitting what helped them get so far ahead) and it leaves out any form of gratitude he has for those who helped him. There are kids equally as smart as this young fellow but they didn't have as good of a home-life, parents with connections and encouragement, these kids worked part time at fast-food jobs throughout highschool instead of spending their free time on fun projects. This kind of insight, understanding, and humbleness is something most successful 20 year olds don't have so I don't blame him if he doesn't understand quite yet. He seems like a legit cool kid and he will only gain more wisdom as he ages.

Thank you I really appreciate this a ton.

Hey.

Yeah, people seem to think some things are off. I added some proof so hopefully it'll be better from now on. First time to reddit, really. I don't know. Everything I'm saying is true, so feel free to ask for any proof.

My family isn't rich, but I did have a computer made available to myself. Which is something a lot of kids didn't have. I never borrowed any money from them or anything, but they worked very hard to encourage me to learn on my own.

Hey Pim, I'm also an aspiring entrepreneur with Tourettes. My question is, how have your tics affected your professional life up to this point?

They do still affect me on a regular basis. People look at me weird sometimes, but I just tend to explain at the beginning. People remember me by it and I think it's actually helped me.

The #1 thing that it has taught me is that I'm always thinking in solutions and not in problems.

Hello Pim,

Fellow dutchie here. How is the transition in culture(food, social life, religion, language etc.) from the Netherlands to Miami? How does a city that size for example hold up to our pride: Amsterdam?

Just wondering, because I am interested in the culture shock people experience when moving into huge cities!

Further more, I support your work and iniatives by all means!

I love this question. So let's get right to it:

Food: Very different in the USA. Much less of a carb-based diet. In holland we eat lots of bread, in the US there's different types of meals for every occasion.

Social life: In holland everything is much closer. I find myself much more social in Holland than I am in the USA. Though in the USA my relationships with people are deeper.

Religion: Definitely more of a religious country here in the USA. In Holland we tend to not put too much emphasis on religion, but here it's on the forefront of everything we do.

Language: English is spoken by lots of people, and after a while it starts coming natural :-)

Amsterdam is unique, and nobody can live up to that!

Thank you for your interest!

Hey! Thanks for the AMA. Any good book or recommendation for trying to go from employee to be independent? Most likely trying to do games or mobile apps.

What kind of impact do you think the VR entertainment is going to make? Do you think a good market for apps and gaming will open?

And last but not least: I'm from Argentina, going to do an euro trip on july: give me one place i should go on Amsterdam!

Book recommendations: I love Zero to One by Peter Thiel and How Google Works by Eric Schmidt.

Impact of VR: I think it's going to be huge. Think about health care training and on-demand surgery, military training, and so much more.

Amsterdam: Hmm I'm not sure... Maybe take a boat tour on the canals!

How did you meet up with Google? Were they the ones to discover your project about Ebola-proof tablet or was it that you reached out to them?

I really like what you have done, going from making YouTube videos about a game, into making a game and then moving on to bigger things... Love it. Wish you best of luck!

So I met with Google because they were also responding to the Ebola crisis on their own. We eventually decided that our project seemed very promising and they wanted to jump on board and collaborate. They have been super generous (they let us work from their office, etc).

Pim, it looks like you've had several successful business ventures at a very young age. What obstacles prevent other young people with good ideas from doing what you have done?

I think the fact that I grew up in a home with a computer was a big benefit. I think the number one obstacle is an environment where you can thrive. Many are not fortunate enough to be in an environment where they are encouraged to learn on their own. The second biggest obstacle is actually our own brain. It tends to want to mitigate as much risk as possible, but once you learn that taking risk is what drives us forward, as long as you manage the risk well, you can achieve a LOT.

Thanks for the response!

In this age of information, learning on our own is pretty easy for those of us who are curious about the world. It seems to me that risk-taking is the hardest thing really get right. What tips do you have for learning to take the right risks?

So by far the most important aspect to taking risk is making sure that it is a risk you can take. If you are young, don't have a family of your own, and feel like it is a risk you can take, it's much easier to take a risk than if there is a lot at stake. In both situations, managing the risk is super important. In my case, things like budgeting and the 20% rule (Invest 20%, if the 20% is lost you don't invest more, if you make progress with your 20%, re-invest in it constantly).

It is also quite easy to test your hypothesis with 100-200 people by just going on the street and asking questions. If it's a more detailled risk such as fighting Ebola, you just have to contact the right people and ask them the right questions. Lots of times people are actually willing to take risks with you if you inspire them enough.

Pizza or wings?

I'm a pizza type of guy :-)

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I'd be lying if I said I ever watched the show. I really don't watch any shows, except Sillicon Valley.. :-)

Hi Pim, great AMA! My question for you is: if I have an idea for an app but I do not know how to code and not much money where would you recommend I begin?

So the first thing to do is to test your hypothesis with about 100 people. Make sure these are 100 people you trust and couldn't just make a phone call and get it built for themselves :-)

I would get started with a code school like tree house (I've heard great things about them) and surround yourself in developer communities!

Who is the woman in your twitter profile picture?

My fiancee

How did you make the change from a gaming company CEO to creating some change in other parts of the world? Was it hard? When did you decide?

It happened quite naturally! I had a huge passion for social impact. Just reach out to the NGOs you are passionate about, they all need technical people and will help you tons!

why did you create Ultron??

Man I'm sorry it was an accident!

What's it like knowing you're contributing more to the world than a lot of people ever will and you're only 20 years old?

Well, to be honest, I think I'm a perfectionist and I still feel like I haven't done enough. What keeps me going is knowing that there is so much more out there to do. It's crazy how big the gap between technology and humanitarian support is!