The CEO of a tech company, Taihei Kobayashi, was homeless for a year and a half. Today he runs a huge company in Japan. The story behind it is impressive.
Many dream of building a huge company from scratch. A Japanese man has succeeded in this feat – he is now the head of a large tech company in Vietnam and Japan.
However, Taihei Kobayashi’s career start was much more chaotic than expected, as his parents set him out on the street at the age of 17. MeinMMO tells his story.
Kobayashi dropped out of school, parents set him out at 17
Who is it about? Taihei Kobayashi is currently the CEO of Sun* (pronounced ‘Sun Asterisk’). This is a large tech company in Japan that develops software solutions for various clients. They support startups in developing new products or help small businesses establish themselves in an industry.
Kobayashi was born in 1983 in Tokyo (Japan). Due to his outstanding skills in mathematics, his parents sent him to Waseda Jitsugyo High School. However, Kobayashi dropped out before completing his studies because he preferred to pursue a career as a musician with his band.
This then gave his parents the reason to set him out at the age of 17.
He lived homeless for a year and a half on the streets of Tokyo while performing with his band during the day. Eventually, the manager of a music club offered him work and accommodation. He lived there for almost 6 years.
After his time at the music club, he earned money through online sales of records and eventually found a job as a software engineer at a small tech company via a job advertisement. He had to pass a test, which he was able to handle without difficulty thanks to his mathematical skills. During this time, he met his mentor, Makoto Hirai.
The two then realized in a conversation that there were many programmers who could code well, but few who had a meaningful business model to offer. Together, they founded Framgia Inc. in Japan in March 2013. The company was renamed Sun* in 2019.
In July 2020, Sun* joined the Tokyo Stock Exchange for startups. Stocks soared until September 2020, and the company’s capital reached 145 billion yen (1.3 billion euros). Kobayashi owns shares in the company valued at about 71 million euros.
Sometimes the boss can also cause everything to fall apart
Unique individuals often create entire companies and empires. Some may think of Bill Gates and Microsoft here. But in some cases, the story does not end so well.
A particularly infamous example is the story of the company “Artesian Builds.” It had built a reputation over the years for offering excellent gaming PCs. However, the company’s boss made a nasty joke with a streamer, and that backfired. Now, the company is bankrupt and has to sell its hardware at discounted prices.
Many users and the streamer are likely pleased that the company is now ending this way. You can read the full story about “Artesian Builds” on MeinMMO:
