Building things that
matter from day one.
A-level student at Surrey Maths School. Obsessed with the intersection of mathematics, machine learning, and markets — and with the idea that great software is still the highest-leverage thing a person can build.
About
Who I am
I'm a maths student at Surrey Maths School, a specialist sixth-form where I've spent the last two years thinking rigorously about problems — and getting increasingly frustrated when the software that's supposed to solve them doesn't.
That frustration is what draws me to building. I'm drawn to problems that sit at the edge of quantitative finance, AI, and software infrastructure — spaces where the stakes are real and the right abstraction can genuinely change outcomes.
I'm applying to YC Startup School because I want to accelerate the gap between having ideas and shipping them. I want to be in a room with people who've done it, understand why most things fail, and can help me think more clearly about what's worth building next.
Applied Mathematics
Probability, statistics, and maths that describe real systems.
Machine Learning
How models learn, fail, and can be made genuinely useful.
Markets & Trading
Price discovery, information asymmetries, financial systems.
SaaS Infrastructure
Subscription models, billing, how software businesses work.
Academics
Education & credentials
Combining a rigorous A-level programme at a specialist maths sixth-form with US university entrance preparation — building credentials on both sides of the Atlantic.
SAT — Scholastic Assessment Test
Target: 1500+
Actively preparing for the SAT with focused study across the Math and Evidence-Based Reading & Writing sections. The quantitative maths background from Surrey Maths School provides a strong foundation — particularly for the advanced algebra, data analysis, and problem-solving modules that distinguish top scores.
AP Calculus BC
College Board Advanced Placement
Preparing for AP Calculus BC — the most advanced mathematics AP offered, covering differential and integral calculus, series, parametric equations, and polar coordinates. Equivalent to two semesters of university-level calculus. Directly complements A-level Further Maths and provides a recognised US academic benchmark for STEM admissions.
A-Levels — Surrey Maths School
Specialist mathematics sixth-form, Guildford
Studying at Surrey Maths School, one of the UK's only specialist mathematics sixth-forms, where every student is selected for exceptional aptitude in mathematics and science. The rigorous curriculum goes well beyond standard A-level, with a culture of independent research and problem-solving that consistently produces students bound for top universities worldwide.
Building
What I'm building
AI-Powered Trading Research
An intelligent research assistant for retail and prop traders — helping them synthesise market signals, backtest ideas, and surface edges that would otherwise take hours of manual analysis. The goal is to close the gap between how institutional desks work and what an individual trader can actually access.
Quantitative Finance Tools
Experimenting with implementations of classic and modern quantitative models — from options pricing to portfolio optimisation — to build intuition for where the hard problems actually live and where software can make a genuine difference.
Research & Projects
Research & ongoing work
Ongoing explorations across machine learning, data science, and quantitative systems. Active on Kaggle as a competitive ML practitioner.
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AI-Powered Trading Signal Engine
OngoingBuilding a multi-agent system that ingests market microstructure data, earnings transcripts, and alternative datasets to generate actionable trade signals. Exploring transformer-based time-series forecasting and reinforcement learning for order execution.
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Satellite Telemetry Analysis — Astro Pi
PublishedAnalysis of environmental and sensor data collected during the ISS mission run. Applied statistical methods to identify anomalies and patterns in microgravity conditions, contributing original findings from one of the few UK school teams selected for the programme.
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CanSat Systems Modelling & Data Pipeline
OngoingDesigned the software stack for a CanSat satellite prototype — real-time telemetry ingestion, sensor fusion, and a ground-station dashboard for flight data visualisation. Combines embedded programming with data engineering under strict payload constraints.
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Kaggle ML Competitions — Predictive Modelling
KaggleActive competitor on Kaggle, working across structured data, NLP, and computer vision challenges. Building fluency in gradient boosting, feature engineering, and ensemble methods through real competitive datasets and leaderboard feedback loops.
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AI Readiness Platform — Claude Build Day
PrototypeRapid prototype built at Anthropic's Claude Build Day: an AI readiness assessment tool that benchmarks an organisation's infrastructure, data maturity, and team capability, then generates a prioritised adoption roadmap using LLM reasoning chains.
View Kaggle profile
kaggle.com/emaadkashif · ML competitions & notebooks
Achievements
Selected achievements
Astro Pi Mission Space Lab
Member of the only team from his school whose code was selected to run on the International Space Station through the Astro Pi programme.
SubscriptionFlow AI
Youngest developer to join the SubscriptionFlow AI team, contributing to AI-powered billing automation and product development.
Claude Build Day
Built an AI Readiness platform from concept to working prototype within a few hours using AI-assisted development workflows.
CanSat Competition
Participated in the design, development and testing of a satellite-in-a-can system, combining engineering, programming and data analysis.
Google Build Day
Participated in rapid prototyping and AI application development using Google's AI ecosystem.
Hackathons
Participated in Harvard HSIL Hackathon and preparing for HackMIT 2026, building software under time pressure with other technical students.
Thinking
Ideas I keep returning to
A few ideas I keep returning to.
- Why most fintech tools talk to traders but don't think with them
- The information structure of markets — and what it means for AI
- What maths school taught me about how to think, not just calculate
- On building things before you're qualified to
Certifications
AI certifications
Pursuing industry-recognised AI credentials from the organisations building frontier models — learning directly from the source.
Professional Machine Learning Engineer
Google Cloud's top-tier ML credential — validating the ability to design, build, deploy, and operationalise AI solutions using Vertex AI, Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform, and Google Cloud's full ML stack. Covers model architecture, MLOps, GenAI integration, and responsible AI.
Building with the Claude API
Anthropic's official developer certification — covering the full Claude API from first call to production deployment. Includes streaming, tool use, prompt engineering, agentic workflows, and MCP (Model Context Protocol) for connecting Claude to external services. Certificate issued by Anthropic on completion.
AI Fluency: Framework & Foundations
Co-developed with academic partners and chaired by the former Yale president and Coursera CEO. Teaches structured frameworks for working with AI — where models excel, where human judgement is irreplaceable, and how to evaluate AI tools critically. Official Anthropic certificate on completion.
Beyond the desk
Life outside the screen
Extracurricular
Surrey Maths School Football Team
Team Player
Active member of the school football team — competing in inter-school fixtures and bringing the same collaborative mindset from the pitch into team-based technical work.
UK Chess Competitions
Competitive Player
Regular participant in UK chess tournaments — a game that rewards long-horizon thinking, pattern recognition, and composure under pressure. The same skills that matter in markets and system design.
Community Volunteering
Local Outreach
Volunteers with local community initiatives supporting homeless people — a reminder that the best systems solve real human problems, not just technical ones.
Interests & Hobbies
Connect
Get in touch
Always happy to talk to people building interesting things, or thinking about the same problems I am.