Nearly three decades ago, Tomas Gorny, a 49-year-old Polish immigrant, came to the U.S. with just $3 a day to spare after rent and transportation costs. Despite the humble beginnings, Gorny is now the founder of multiple tech businesses, including cloud-based business communications company Nextiva, which was recently valued at $2.7 billion. With a net worth exceeding $1 billion, according to a Nextiva spokesperson, Gorny’s rags-to-riches story is a testament to his hard work and determination.
Gorny attended college in Germany, dreaming of starting a tech business in the U.S. When a friend offered him a chance to help build a website-hosting startup in Los Angeles in 1996, Gorny took the opportunity, dropping out of college to bring $15,000 to the table. However, the money quickly disappeared on housing, legal fees, and a clunky car that broke down within months.
With no income from his startup, Gorny worked multiple jobs, including as a parking valet and commercial carpet cleaner, to make ends meet. He survived on scraps, subsisting on McDonald’s and the occasional all-you-can-eat buffet at Sizzler.
In 1998, his startup, Internet Communications, was acquired by Interliant in a deal worth $6 million in cash and stock. Gorny’s share was valued at over $1 million, which he used to buy a car and put a mortgage on a house. However, when the dot-com bubble burst in 2001, Interliant went bankrupt, and Gorny’s stock value plummeted to just $6,000.
Undeterred, Gorny used his experience as motivation to start a new venture, iPower, which built software tools for people to create their own websites without technical expertise. The company grew rapidly, and Gorny launched Nextiva in 2006, which has since become one of the country’s largest web-hosting companies, with a client base of 100,000 businesses and $200 million in recent funding from Goldman Sachs.
Through his journey, Gorny has remained focused on solving a common problem deeply enough to warrant payment, rather than chasing wealth. His perseverance and determination have enabled him to build a business empire, going from living on $3 a day to becoming a billionaire.