About AlgoMonster

The Struggle Was Real

My name is Sheldon, and I attended the University of Waterloo, a Canadian institution renowned for its Faculty of Mathematics, School of Computer Science, and co-op internship program. The co-op program allows students to alternate between academic terms and paid work experiences in their field of study.

Computer Science is the envy of all students at the university, and the competition is fierce. Among CS students, there's a saying called "Cali or Bust," which refers to the contest of securing a job in Silicon Valley. The competition is intense. Regular lunch conversations involve gossiping about who got into which company, which caused me great stress. At one point, it felt like everyone around me was able to land an offer except me.

People say it's just "grinding LeetCode," but that sounds much easier than it actually is. Students often discuss which questions they got at interviews and brag about how many LeetCode problems they've solved—it becomes a game of numbers. Those who can't keep up are often classified as "dumb" or "not trying hard enough."

The hardest part wasn't just not knowing how to solve coding problems; it was the hopelessness of feeling like everyone else found it easy while I was struggling with the basics. LeetCode felt like an endless maze of 3000+ problems with no clear path forward.

The Academic Gap

Another major problem was that what's taught academically at school is very different from what's asked in interviews. For example, in my algorithms class CS341, a big part of the emphasis was on doing proofs mathematically and exploring complex algorithms like KMP and Burrows–Wheeler transform (a fancy compression algorithm), which frankly would have 0% chance of being asked at an interview.

Meanwhile, depth-first search—an algorithm that shows up highly frequently in interviews—only had one lecture and no programming assignment. This stark contrast between what's being taught at school versus what's asked in interviews (and what's actually used on the job) left me completely unprepared for the real world.

The Turning Point: Systems Over Goals

That's when I realized I needed to stop focusing on the goal of "getting a job" and start building a system. I buckled down and committed to structured, methodical study. Instead of randomly solving problems, I began identifying patterns and building a systematic approach to problem-solving.

The grind wasn't glamorous, but the system worked. I stopped chasing quick fixes and focused on truly understanding the fundamental patterns that appear again and again in coding interviews. This systematic approach transformed my understanding from scattered knowledge into a cohesive framework.

The Enlightenment

Suddenly, everything clicked. What once seemed like random, impossible problems became recognizable patterns. I could look at a new problem and immediately identify which approach to use. The systematic knowledge I had built gave me the confidence to tackle any coding challenge.

This transformation led me to Google, but more importantly, it taught me that coding interviews aren't about memorizing thousands of problems—they're about mastering a small set of patterns that appear repeatedly.

Putting It All Together

I created AlgoMonster because I knew there were millions of others experiencing the same frustration I had felt. I wanted to give them the structured system that had transformed my own journey—a way to learn efficiently and systematically rather than struggling through trial and error.

When I first put the site up, it started to gain traction. Over the years, we've continuously added additional content with the help of my genius friends who are competitive programmers. Their expertise has been invaluable in refining our patterns and ensuring we're covering the most relevant interview topics.

Building the Interview OS

We're building far beyond just patterns now. Our learning environment has become highly optimized with features like Speedrun for rapid problem review, an AI Assistant for personalized help, interactive flowcharts for systematic problem-solving, and a comprehensive learning roadmap that guides you through every essential topic. I can confidently say this is the most refined experience for learning the patterns anywhere.

We're constantly adding company-specific questions and new features based on the latest interview trends. Our vision is to build the complete interview OS for your success—a comprehensive platform that handles every aspect of your coding interview preparation, from learning fundamentals to mastering advanced topics to practicing with real interview scenarios.

My Pledge to You

If you complete the content on AlgoMonster, you will be interview-ready and capable of landing a job.This isn't just a promise—it's a commitment based on the systematic approach that worked for me and thousands of others.

Every pattern, every explanation, every tool on this platform is designed to give you the structured foundation you need to succeed. No more random grinding, no more hopeless confusion—just a clear path from where you are to where you want to be.