From an Internet Café to Silicon Valley: How Amjad Masad Built Replit

Amjad Masad is the kind of founder who makes the startup world feel alive. He grew up far from Silicon Valley, in Amman, Jordan, with limited access to powerful computers and modern developer tools. Yet he went on to build Replit, one of the most popular online coding platforms in the world, used by millions of developers, students, and hobbyists.

This is the story of how a kid coding in an internet café turned his passion into a global developer platform, and what every aspiring founder and programmer can learn from his journey.

As a teenager, Amjad didn’t have a high-end laptop or a quiet home office. Instead, he would go to a crowded internet café where time was billed by the hour. The connection was slow, the machines were basic, and distractions were everywhere. But to him, those computers were a gateway to another world. He used them to explore open-source projects, learn programming languages, and connect with a global community of developers.

In those days, programming often required complex setup: installing compilers, SDKs, and tools on machines that were not even his. The frustration of this experience planted a seed in his mind: What if code could run directly in the browser, instantly, from anywhere? That simple question would later become the foundation of Replit.

The Spark: A Simple Way to Run Code Online

Before Replit became a startup, it started as a side project. Amjad wanted to build a tool that made it ridiculously easy to run code online. No downloads, no setup, no configuration. Just open a page, type code, and see the result.

Together with co-founder Haya Odeh, he built an early version of what would become Replit. At first, it was a minimal website where you could write code in a few languages and see it execute directly in the browser. Teachers began using it to introduce students to programming, and developers liked it for quick experiments and sharing snippets. The response proved a powerful idea: coding needed to be more accessible.

But to turn this experiment into a real company, Amjad needed to move closer to where the startup ecosystem was strongest—Silicon Valley.

From Jordan to Silicon Valley

Moving from Jordan to the United States is not an easy step. It meant leaving behind his home, culture, and familiarity, and jumping into a world full of startups, investors, and fierce competition. Amjad first worked as an engineer, including a role at Facebook, where he contributed to developer tools and internal systems.

Those years in big tech gave him something crucial: a deeper understanding of how large-scale software systems are built and how important developer experience really is. He saw that even top companies struggled with complexity in their tooling. This strengthened his belief that the world needed a simpler, more powerful coding environment—something built for the web age.

Eventually, he decided to go all in on his vision. Replit became not just a side project, but a venture-backed startup with the mission to “bring the next billion software creators online.”

What Makes Replit So Powerful?

At its core, Replit is an online IDE—an environment where you can write, run, and share code from your browser. But what makes it special is how much friction it removes from the process of building software.

With Replit, you can:

1. Code from any device: All you need is a browser. This is a huge deal for people who, like Amjad in that internet café, don’t have powerful computers.

2. Collaborate in real time: Multiple people can edit the same project at once, similar to how users collaborate in Google Docs. This turns coding into a more social and interactive experience.

3. Learn and teach easily: Educators love Replit because they can share templates, assignments, and live coding sessions with students who only need a link to get started.

4. Deploy apps instantly: Developers can host web apps, bots, APIs, and small services directly from Replit with very little setup. This makes it a perfect launchpad for side projects and startups.

Underneath that simplicity is a complex cloud infrastructure, but Replit hides this complexity behind a friendly interface. That philosophy reflects Amjad’s belief: tools should serve creativity, not get in its way.

The Role of AI in Replit’s Growth

In recent years, Replit has leaned heavily into AI-powered coding. Features like Ghostwriter help developers write code faster with intelligent autocompletion, explanations, and code generation. This fits perfectly with the original vision: lower the barrier to becoming a creator.

For new developers, AI suggestions make it less scary to start. For experienced programmers, it becomes a productivity boost. Amjad often talks about a future where anyone with an idea can build software—even if they start with very little technical background. AI on Replit is a big step toward that future.

Lessons from Amjad Masad’s Journey

Amjad’s path from internet café to Silicon Valley is inspiring, but it’s also full of practical lessons for founders, developers, and students.

1. Start with your own pain
Replit was born from Amjad’s frustration with slow, complex, and inaccessible developer tools. By solving a problem he deeply understood, he could build a product that resonated with millions. If you want to build something meaningful, look closely at the problems you personally face.

2. Make hard things simple
Programming, deployment, and collaboration used to require lots of setup and configuration. Replit made these one-click experiences. People are drawn to products that remove friction and make them feel powerful quickly.

3. Don’t wait for perfect conditions
Amjad didn’t start coding with the best hardware or the best environment. He used what he had—old PCs in busy cafés—and still found a way to learn and create. The message is clear: start where you are, with what you have.

4. Think globally from day one
Because Replit runs in the browser, it can serve users from any country. That fits Amjad’s own background and helps the company reach developers in regions that big tech often overlooks.

5. Keep the mission clear
Throughout Replit’s growth, the mission has remained consistent: make coding accessible. That clarity helps guide product decisions, hiring, and communication with the community.

From User to Creator: Why Replit Matters

We live in a world where most people are consumers of software. They use apps, games, and tools built by others. Amjad Masad’s vision with Replit is to flip that balance—to help more people move from users to creators.

By making it easy to code, share, and deploy right from the browser, Replit opens doors for a new generation of makers: students in schools, hobbyists in internet cafés, employees learning to automate tasks, and founders building their first MVPs.

For anyone who has ever felt that building software was too hard, expensive, or out of reach, Amjad’s story sends a powerful message: your background does not define your potential. With curiosity, persistence, and the right tools, you can create something that touches millions.

Final Thoughts

From that noisy internet café in Jordan to a fast-growing startup in Silicon Valley, Amjad Masad’s journey is more than a success story. It is a reminder that big ideas can come from anywhere, and that the future of software belongs not just to professionals with elite setups, but to anyone with a browser and a desire to build.

If you have an idea, open Replit, write your first line of code, and take that first step. The next great story might start from your screen.