Kawas began learning how to program and develop apps when he was 14 years old.[10][11] In 2013, Kawas launched Saily, a second-hand marketplace shopping app,[12] with his friend, Dani Arnaout. While developing Saily, Kawas would skip high school every month to focus on developing the app and travel to San Francisco to learn from experienced people in the technology industry.[13] Through these networking opportunities, he met Will Bunker, the founder and partner of San Francisco-based startup accelerator GrowthX; Bunker later became an investor in Saily.[14]