Many of our readers understand how starting out in the tech industry at a young age is difficult but rewarding. Jeff Haynie, CEO and cofounder of Appcelerator, understands this completely. Haynie, who learned coding at 12 and started his first company at age 14, had another aspect of his experience that sets him apart. Jeff grew up in the infancy of Internet and technology.

Depending on how you look at it, this is a huge strength but not something that was a walk in the park at the same time. Jeff recalled the time when the lack of Internet advancement required him to write down a seperate copy of his typed code in the event of a crash or a disconnection that would wipe all of his work away. That did occur to him at one time, resulting in two days of retyping everything he had created.

This shows how fortunate the current group of entrepreneurs and developers are. We have the technology available at such an advanced rate that we sometimes take advantage of what we are given. Daniel mentioned more about how being in Silicon Valley allows these creative individuals to create and innovate in the heart of history.

With Google and Facebook HQs right on the route to PARC and Teens in Tech HQ, history is all around us in Silicon Valley. Being at PARC, we are in a building that contributed to the creation of the mouse, the ethernet cord, and other technological advancements.

As Jeff became involved in coding while in high school, he mentions of how he purchased his first computer at Macy’s, a department store out of all places. In the 90s, Haynie then became involved with business incubation. Which leads him to Appcelerator and his involvement with Teens in Tech and our own incubator (teams will present shortly).

Haynie understands the difficulty of being involved in a business and in its creation. Haynie was involved in the Greek fraternity college newspaper. Haynie recalls how he had to pay $2000 a week to print copies of the newspaper. Despite all of his hardwork in the trash, Haynie continued, even after dropping out of college. But after noticing the impact this was on his life and finances, he had to quit and become a programmer in Atlanta.

To learn more about Appcelerator, check out the website and don’t forget to stay updated with everything about the Teens in Tech conference for this year on our website and Twitter page.