These days no one believes in the stories about homeless men turning into millionaires. If it were this simple there would be no homeless people on the streets. There are no miracles, you have to work really hard to succeed at anything in this life. However, the story of the 21-year-old Harry Sanders, a homeless man from Melbourn, proves the opposite – miracles do happen, but with a bit of luck and persistence.
Today, Harry Sanders is ranked top on the list of Australia’s most successful young entrepreneurs, and has an estimated net worth of $1,5 million. You may say that $1,5 million is not that much but given his past, it’s kinda impressive.
The thing is that just a few years ago Sanders was a homeless man who used to live under the Melbourne bridge and feed out of the trash can. He would consider himself lucky if he could crash at his old classmates’ couch or at a homeless shelter.
Today, being a millionaire and CEO, he thinks back on his first night on the streets. Harry had no idea what to do and where to go. He said: “I had no idea that the homeless had territories they would control. So, the trouble found me on the first night on the streets because I was walking around where I shouldn’t. As for the food, I always managed to find something to eat. I would step by the food stores/outlets and ask if there were any leftovers. And they would happily give me something to eat. I wasn’t starving or anything.”
Sanders heard lots of stories about people turning into hobos but deep down in his heart he knew this was not the life he wanted to live. So one sleepless night he decided he had enough and it’s time to turn his life around. He started thinking about what kind of job he could do and couldn’t think of anything else but programming. No, he was not an IT specialist or anything, but he did have certain SEO skills and knowledge. So, having decided to start looking for a job in IT, Harry bought a phonebook and started calling every single IT company listed in the book.
After months of attempts and fails, he finally managed to snatch up a position in one of the companies. He was even allowed to sleep in the office until he made enough money to rent a place. Once he acquired a steady income, he moved into a share house. This was the time he started thinking about relaunching Studiohawk – his startup idea that is focused on SEO, and helps websites become more visible on the internet.
Needless to say that relaunching StudioHawk was the best thing that had ever happened to Harry. The company has gone global with an office opened in London, and is now worth $1,5 million.
Today, Harry Sanders is a successful entrepreneur and a millionaire who can afford a lot of things. He lives a very busy life – he travels a lot, he is crazy about sports and art, but he never forgets about work. He keeps investing in various start up projects and helps young entrepreneurs achieve their dreams.