Figgers successfully fixed the Macintosh and by 12 years old he joined an after-school program where he was able to maintain and fix computers for the school. Then he went out on his own, becoming an entrepreneur by age 15 by starting Figgers Computers, a repair company for computers that ran out of his parents’ home. Eventually, his company also helped clients store data on his servers.
“When I was 17, I had 150 clients that needed websites and storage for their files. I just kept building from there,” Figgers told The Washington Post.
Figgers’ business was booming—so much so that he postponed going to college. And he continued in his endeavors, creating a GPS tracker program built into a shoe so he could track his dad who had since developed Alzheimer’s. The tracking system allowed the person wearing the shoe to hear and respond to the person calling the tracker.
“I could pick up the phone and say, ‘Hey Dad, where are you at?’ and he doesn’t have to do anything, just lean down and talk into his shoe and I can track his location,” explained Figgers.
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Even though that tracker was made specifically for Figgers to care for his dad, others were interested, and GPS tracker he invented was purchased for $2.2 million in 2012.
At the time, Figgers was only 23 years old.
Figgers’ dad has since passed. And this has broken his heart.
“It honestly broke me,” he said, “because all I ever wanted to do was make my dad happy.”
But Figgers has gone on to honor his dad with his hard work and success. Today, Figgers is CEO of a telecommunications company valued over $60 million.
And this dumpster baby turned CEO gives all the credit to his adoptive parents. “My adopted parents took me in as their own and raised me to who I am today.”
