requirements.txt

so my roommate (@aadillpickle) made this really cool site to acknowledge the people in his life who have helped him become the person he is today.

it’s kinda like a python requirements.txt file, but for humans (or a javascript package.json file for you web nerds out there).

instead of listing software dependencies, it lists people dependencies.

people that have helped shape who you are today, each with their own unique qualities that you’ve learned from.

it’s honestly a really cool idea, so imma steal it & do the same thing here (& strongly encourage you to do the same!).

here’s my incomplete & growing requirements.txt file for the important humans in my life so far, outside of my immediate family:

  • aadill pickle - one of my best friends & roommate. can’t fit everything i know about him in this one line, but it’s safe to say that he’s had quite a big impact on my life. we’ve learned a lot from each other, and my late night talks with him have been some of the most insightful conversations i’ve ever had. can always count on him to help me get through all my ups & downs.

  • fateen (aka the toymaker) - another one of my best friends. i dont even know where to start with this guy. super clear thinker, good person to talk through difficult problems with, and someone who’s just an all-round chill guy (he’s a grinder when it comes to work tho). he’s also been there for me through a lot of my ups & downs, and i couldn’t be more grateful for that.

  • aileen - i feel like we’ve become really close friends even though we just met this year. i have yet to meet anyone with more vibrant energy than you. the one thing i’ve learned from you is to never play badminton with you haha, you’re unfairly good at it.

  • sharif - clear thinker, ambitious entrepreneur, & a really great friend. his tweet explaining how the rotisserie chicken is “a marvel of engineering” is not only one of his most underrated tweets, but it also perfectly encapsulates who he is in 228 characters. but the only issue with him is that his yoshi is insanely hard to beat in smash – fucking nerd lol.

  • dylan - constantly teaches me how to be a jolly, fun person & that it’s okay to embrace your inner innocence. it’s honestly impossible to take life seriously when he’s around lol. building ComfyWorkflows with him has been one of the most fun experiences of my life. (oh, and ty for always laughing at all of the lame jokes i say lol)

  • farza, & the entire buildspace team - i literally wouldn’t be in sf w/o buildspace (esp. the $25K grant from nights & weekends s2 and the 4 separate video calls I had with farza & alec to convince me to move to sf for 3 months). it completely changed the trajectory of my life & gave me my closest friends, and i’ll always be grateful for that.

  • furqan & hubert - furqan and hubert were my first investors ever (they invested in ComfyWorkflows). they believed in me and were willing to write me a check when i didn’t even have an idea yet. without their support, i wouldn’t have been able to take a shot at building a startup in SF. also, thank you for building a place for builders as special as founders, inc. i’ve made so many memories & friendships in that space, that have permanently changed my life. the one thing i’ll say about furqan tho, is that he can sometimes foul me a bit too much when we play basketball 😭. let me shoot those three’s in peace, sheeesh.

  • stavan - apart from helping me during buildspace, he’s also been a great emotional support system for me. he has really good people skills, and is a fun guy that i can also have deep conversations with. his kazuya up-B spam in smash is mad annoying tho, fr.

  • patrick - i don’t think i’ve ever met anyone with such high discipline as this guy. one of my truly special friends, and someone who will be genuinely happy for you when good things happen to you.

  • naveed - i first met him online in the buildspace discord during nights & weekends, and we’ve been friends ever since. bro is one of the kindest people i know, and he truly cares for those close to him. he has had one of the craziest life trajectories i’ve ever seen (bro went from learning to code to becoming a successful startup founder in a matter of a few months), and he deserves every ounce of the success he’s achieving rn.

  • riley - it’s funny – riley first emailed me after seeing my maroofy project last year, but i only met him in person for the first time this year, after i moved to sf. it was only after meeting him that i learned that building cool things & sharing them online has this underrated positive effect of attracting really cool & interesting people to you. and riley is the epitome of just that – he’s truly one of the most interesting human beings i’ve ever met. bro has already done stuff like creating a fake steakhouse, organizing a city-wide scavenger hunt, and even using public citibike data to figure out where the potential united ceo assassin went after the crime. he has one of the strongest idea muscles of any person i’ve ever met, and the way he sees the world reminds me of one of my favorite movies of all time, 3 idiots. for those who’ve watched the movie, he’s basically the closest you could get to Rancho in real life. 🐐

  • julian - julian is basically my coach at seeking discomfort. he constantly pushes me to do things that i want to do, but am too scared to do so. he’s personally helped me overcome some of my biggest fears through super late night conversations, and is genuinely one of the most caring people i’ve ever met. the thing i admire most about him, however, is that he’s able to maintain a playful personality and light-hearted aura, while still being one of the most serious, hardest working people i’ve ever met. bro works hard and parties hard(er).

  • jackson - super great friend, insanely fast learner, & an excellent risk taker. like bro literally taught himself how to build a spinning, 3D volumetric display from scratch with just youtube and claude (!). and when i mean he’s good at risk taking, i don’t mean that in a “he’s a gambler” way. instead, all of his risks are well-planned & thought through, including his story of coming to the US from Australia on a one-way ticket with what turned out to be a really well-executed plan for landing a job at one of his favorite startups.

  • haseab - one of my closest friends. he’s a certified yapper, but also someone who is always genuinely curious about life in general. very few people can ask better questions than him, and is also a pretty brave person overall. one of the hardest working people i know, and i genuinely can’t wait for his work to start blowing up. see you soon in sf, brother.

  • shafaq - honestly one of the funniest guys i’ll ever become friends with. bro literally never gives ‘sha’-fuck, has no filter, & always has a smile on him. he might be a bit too unhinged at times, but his energy is infectious. also, bro is insanely cracked at every single video game (especially smash). like go touch grass or something.