Tales of enormous fortunes created by the technology industry brought a gold rush in recent years that has gripped San Francisco and the Silicon Valley. Many young dreamers – entrepreneurs, geniuses, idealists – flocked to the area with the hope of starting a successful start-up or striking it rich by joining the right company at the right time.

The tech boom has contributed to growing income inequality in the area. And many of the young transplants profiled below are not among the area’s elite, at least not yet. They often live on the cheap while working on their companies, a process known as bootstrapping.

They work long hours with hopes to build empires. And their lives are intertwined: They live with each other, network with one another in co-working spaces, compete with everyone and party together.

Over the last few months, the headlines have changed, amid gyrating tech stocks and questions over the broader economy. For every success story, there will be many more failures. Yet most of these dreamers believe that the industry remains a true meritocracy: that those who deserve to succeed will do so.