Moment tech CEO and former homeless man locks in $1 billion deal and changes his life
A tech company CEO was filmed the moment he closed the biggest deal of his life and it's truly heartwarming.
Most people hope they win the lottery or even just find $10 walking down the street.
But it's quite difficult to imagine how it would feel after closing a billion-dollar deal and massively inflating your own wealth in the process.
But that's exactly what happened to British man Dean Forbes.
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Even more surprisingly, Forbes had been made homeless twice - first at 14 then at 17 - and had amassed significant debt as a young man.
The future tech mogul had even failed at trying to secure a professional soccer career.
Speaking about his homelessness, he explained: "Both times were very difficult for our family. We went into hostel accommodation and the second time, we came out of it by breaking up the family. I was of age so I left home and had to go and make my own way."
“I describe the start of my career journey as a twice homeless failed footballer who found himself doing telesales to service a mountain of debt that he'd accumulated to keep up with football friends,” Forbes told Business Chief in late 2022.
He would go on to become the CEO of major software firm Forterro which was acquired by Partners Group in 2022. This deal shot Forbes net worth up to around $51 million.
The moment Forbes managed to close the deal that saw his company bought at the lofty $1billion price tag was thankfully captured on camera and has gone viral on social media.
The video shows Forbes getting off the phone before hunching over celebrating while his friend records his reaction.
The CEO then continues to hold his hands over his face as he becomes overwhelmed with emotion.
“Man pulled off a billion-dollar deal, that is so mad. That is so mad,” Forbes' friend can be heard saying in the clip.
“That is a unicorn move. A unicorn move. This isn’t even Black success anymore. This is just elite, the elite level.”
Forbes has insisted he had been helped by a lot of people on his journey but having a difficult life before he saw success played an impact on his work ethic.
“I have been lucky and I've been helped by a lot of people, but I've worked very hard,” he told Business Chief.
“I've done the hours, because I don't want to be back in that situation. It taught me that you get up, you go to work. You don't spend time feeling sorry for yourself. I learned to be resilient.
“Not to stop and ponder bad luck and misfortune and things that happen. So I get over difficult situations extremely quickly. I learned that it's a privilege to work.”
Topics: Technology, Social Media
Gerrard Kaonga