一位移民白手起家的传奇创业故事
欢迎来到《财富》杂志的最新栏目“我如何赚到第一桶金”。本栏目采访了目前最有影响力的人士，了解他们积累财富的过程。在本栏目中，来自世界各地的创始人、企业家、投资者和创作者分享他们的收入如何达到七位数，他们有哪些与众不同之处，以及他们对于积累财富的最佳建议。
对于托马斯·高尔尼，很难对他的身份进行界定。他是波兰移民，搬到美国的时候几乎身无分文（甚至不会说英语），他还是科技公司创始人，曾连续创业，他还曾做过报童，是五个孩子的父亲。他还是一位百万富翁，但他不愿意透露自己的具体身家。
但对于刚刚48岁的高尔尼，最准确的定义或许是他东山再起的能力。他第一次取得巨大成功是在进入千禧年之前，当时他大学肄业后搬到了洛杉矶，创立了一家网站托管公司。1998年该公司以数百万美元的价格售出，这让他变成了百万富翁。当时23岁的高尔尼本可以过上舒适的生活。但他第二次创业时成立的一家销售互联网广告的公司，却一败涂地，他的其他早期投资也损失惨重。他发现自己又回到了原点，甚至无力支付房贷。
但高尔尼坚定不移地想要在美国取得成功，他最初飞往美国就没有想过退路，这种精神意味着他不害怕从头再来。2001年10月，他创立了网站托管平台IPOWER，几年后，这家公司被收购，据媒体报道售价接近10亿美元。之后他又参与创建了另外三家网站托管公司，包括基于云的商业通讯软件公司Nextiva，这是他目前正在经营的公司。
高尔尼是个另类：他在“安息日”不工作，他拒绝花钱买高价咖啡，而且他承认自己“非常不适合为别人打工”，因为他不喜欢循规蹈矩。但他的事业却很成功：2021年，Nextiva从高盛（Goldman Sachs）融资2亿美元，估值为27亿美元。
所有人都在猜测高尔尼接下来会有哪些创业灵感，但他向《财富》杂志解释了是什么让他保持脚踏实地，决心继续寻找新的创业机会。
您在哪里长大？
共产党执政时期的波兰。我的父母都是工厂工人，我成长过程中根本没有机会接触到商业和创业。我出生于1975年，在波兰一直生活到14岁。在7岁左右的时候，我就有了要到美国的想法。在少年时期，我对美国的了解都是透过课本和美国电影，例如《华尔街》（Wall Street）和《90210》。
后来我住在德国，在上大学期间已经创建了两家公司。我碰巧认识了一个移民到美国回德国探亲的人。他对我所做的一切印象深刻，便邀请我加入他的公司。
于是，我毕业前两个月选择了辍学。1996年3月，我搬到洛杉矶，帮助他创建了一家网站托管公司，他给我提供“血汗股权”。三年左右的时间里，我每天只有3美元的生活费。最终，在1998年，这家公司被出售，我也因此赚到了第一个一百万，而且实际金额远不止一百万。
从经济角度，您如何评价您的童年生活？
非常拮据。我们没有车，主要交通工具是公共汽车。没有电话，只有黑白电视，而且只有一两个能看的频道。生活很简单，但我从来不觉得贫穷，我始终觉得自己得到了妥善的照顾。父母总是鼓励我要有更多追求。
在您小时候，是什么让您对商业和金融产生了兴趣？
我总是忙忙碌碌，经常组织活动，我还是不同倡议活动的领导者。当没有人愿意领头的时候，我总是会站出来。后来，我对解决市场上的大问题产生了兴趣。
在搬到德国之后，我的成长过程恰好赶上了PC革命。最初的PC都有DOS手册，你必须在电脑里输入长串的命令行才能执行任何操作。后来诞生了Windows 1.0，之后又有了Windows 2.0、Windows 3.0。那时候，你只需要点击一个按键，就能输入长串命令行，在电脑上进行操作。
这是我人生中的一个关键时刻。我当时不知道自己未来能做什么。但我希望能够使其他人更容易使用科技，因为我看到了Windows为所有人打开了市场，使人人都有机会进入市场。我想参与到那场科技革命当中。
您的第一份工作是什么？这份工作的收入有多少？您从中获得了哪些与金钱有关的启示？
我的第一份工作是在德国做报童。这份工作的收入相对微薄。我要在早上三四点起床去送报，然后去上学，下午则要经营我自己的公司。虽然我觉得送报这份工作做得不错，但我最后还是惨遭解雇。我认为我之所以喜欢创业，部分原因是我非常不适合为别人打工。我有自己的想法。了解德国社会体制的人都知道，德国是一个非常注重过程的国家，你必须遵守规则。但我不喜欢循规蹈矩。
我发现，如果自己创业，我会做得更好，因为我会设定自己的边界，我会改变现状。我不能接受当前的现状就是极限这种观念。我们可以创造新事物，可以精益求精。
您当时从事的是什么工作？
我成立了两家公司。一家倒闭了。这家公司的业务是销售CD，但效益不好。父亲替我感到难过，于是从我这里买下了一批CD，他成为我的第一位客户。
后来，我抓住了PC革命带来的机会。德国有一些大公司开始开展PC业务，但我想，我们可以做得更好，我们可以将个性化服务送到用户家中。于是我们开始创业[公司名为Trendsetter]，但当时我没有任何资本，所以，我必须一台一台地出售电脑。随着资本增多，我开始拓展业务。虽然它没有变成一家大公司，但对于一个18岁的男孩来说，这家公司依旧有重要的意义。
讲讲您获得邀请来到美国的那一刻吧。您如何实现来到美国的梦想？您经历了什么过程？
我为一个移民美国的人创业的时候，实际上是在上学的强制实习期间。
他回德国探亲时，看到我在做的事情，这给他留下了深刻印象。他正准备成立一家网站托管公司。那是在1996年，那家公司是世界上最早的网站托管公司之一。当时我们并不了解互联网的用途。他说，和我一起创业吧。虽然我不能给你任何保证，也付不起你的工资，但我会给你血汗股权。
于是我放下一切，最终来到美国做各种工作。我上午负责管理公司，晚上在餐厅和公寓楼代客泊车和清洁地毯，还在许多活动上做过侍者。我想方设法靠每天3美元的生活费维持生计，但我从未自怨自艾。我生活在我喜欢的国家和城市。
您前往美国之前能说哪几种语言？
波兰语和德语。我不会英语。实际上，我是在经营过程中，通过回复邮件和与生意伙伴沟通学会了英语。
我在六个月内就能用英语流利沟通。许多年之后，我的英语水平不断提高。不过二十多年后，我依旧有明显的口音。
您是否有过回德国的念头？
从来没有。我经历过一些非常艰难的时期，但德国的环境不适合我。对我而言，德国是一个风景秀丽的国家，人民能享受到良好的待遇，但这个国家非常保守，人们要遵守许多规则。我却是一个喜欢无拘无束的人。我认为美国商机无限。
您提到您每天的生活费只有3美元。您是否不得不使用信用卡，例如签账卡，或者您不得不举债？
初到美国的时候，你必须积累自己的信用。我在支付了一套公寓的首付之后，很快就变得身无分文。贷款机构愿意为我提供的贷款还不如我的存款多。因此我当时没有任何信用贷款。最初，我也没有社保号码。我申请了一个社保号码，并且不得不聘请了律师，因为这样我就可以合法留在美国。而这让我变得捉襟见肘。
即使每天的生活费只有3美元，也没什么大不了。我和一位朋友经常在周日去Sizzler吃自助餐。一顿自助餐只需要7美元。我们两人凑了一笔钱，这样总是可以有一个人去吃自助餐。那是我每周对自己的奖励。
您当时如何积累财富？
我并没有有意积累财富。我始终专注于公司的经营。我们知道有网站的人越来越多，但经营一个网站依旧成本高昂。我们是最早的网站托管公司之一。很快，大股东开始收到收购这家公司的要约，条件很诱人。
尽管我只是少数股东，而且如果出售公司，我或许可以获得更多利益，因为我并没有公司的控制权，但我还是不太情愿出售公司。我向他提出了反对意见。我说：‘你看，市场正在扩张。最终所有人都会有自己的网站。’他在1998年决定卖掉公司，两年半后，他兑现了我们之间的约定，于是我真得在一夜之间拥有了数百万美元。
最初收购公司的要约价格是多少？
200万至600万美元之间，交易方式是现金和股票组合。我能获得如此丰厚的回报，原因之一是收购我们的公司最终上市。我们选择的交易方式是三分之二的现金加三分之一的股份。仅这些股份的价值最终就达到数千万美元。
您在多大的时候成了百万富翁？
在刚到23岁的时候。
对于一个23岁的年轻人来说，这是一笔巨额财富。您当时有什么心路历程？您是否考虑过聘请一位理财顾问？
我没有太多或好或坏的想法。我买了一套不错的房子，首付不到100,000美元。我花40,000美元买了第一辆车，那是一辆梅赛德斯（Mercedes）。如果你了解洛杉矶，你就知道绝对不能依赖公共交通。我与我信任的人一起，将剩下的钱用来投资。很可惜，这是我犯下的错误之一。
在此期间，软银（Softbank）也投资了我们的一家公司。我和软银一起投资创立了这家公司。那是在1998年至1999年期间。两年后，众所周知，泡沫破灭。我在一些我信任的人身上犯了一个错误，所有资金几乎损失殆尽。到2001年年中，我已经不知道该如何偿还下个月的房贷。
当时是一种什么状况？
我并没有变得消沉，我依旧认为市场中商机无限。正如我所说的那样，我曾建议前一家网站托管公司的老板不要将公司出售。通过研究网站托管行业，我认为该领域依旧有巨大商机。没有人能实现我设想的愿景：让非技术用户更容易托管网站，跳过中间商，使网站托管的价格更容易承受。
当时911事件结束后不久，那或许是最不适合创业的时期之一，但我决定创业。我持有的股份曾经价值高达800万至1,000万美元，但一度暴跌至6,000美元。
我最后清算了这些股份，并购买了两台服务器，用于创建网站托管公司。当时我有良好的信用状况。后来我在自家地下室里，使用美国运通（American Express）的贷款创建了网站托管公司[iPower]。然后我在其他人的办公室里租了一个很小的隔间，并将其改造成小型办公室。我招聘了几名员工。
我们成了美国增长速度最快的网站托管公司。两年内，我们变成全世界增长速度最快的网站托管公司。公司在一年内的市值就超过了1,000万美元。
2007年，我们与另外一家比我们规模更小的公司合并。我们在合并后继续拓展网站托管业务。2011年，我们以近10亿美元的价格将公司出售，后来公司成功上市。如今，它成为仅次于GoDaddy的全球第二大网站托管公司。
您在创建iPower时，用了多长时间使它的市值突破1亿美元？
公司市值用了约六年时间达到1.5亿美元。
当时，当您得到一大笔工资或某项收入时，您是否觉得这是一笔不可思议的巨额财富，或者您只是想着我要专注于公司经营，别无其他想法？
在创业之初，我就给自己制定了三条原则：与优秀的人共事，打造能为客户创造非凡价值的产品，保证我们能够独立掌控自己的命运。
我个人还有一个原则——如果我每个月能赚5,000美元，并且可以偿还房贷，我可以一直这样生活下去。在创业初期，我们一天只签约了三位客户，因为我们的技术仍在开发过程中。
我经历了起起伏伏，我真得不想再重复这样的日子。我只是尽量专注于新的商机。新软件发布后，我们的客户真得在一夜之间从每天3人，增加到每天200人，一个月内达到了2,000名客户。几个月内，我们的客户突破10,000人。到第一年年底，我们的客户达到60,000人。
除了房子和车子以外，您有没有购买过非常昂贵的物品？或者您只是专注于发展公司和追求成功？
我始终专注于公司的运营。我更喜欢用我对市场的影响力来定义自己，而不是我的资产净值。除了创业以外，我没有太多其他兴趣。我这个人很无聊。每当我们在市场上取得一定的成就时，我会开始寻找新的商机。
您曾买过最昂贵的物品是什么？
可能是那套房子。多年来，随着家庭成员越来越多，我买了几栋大房子。我有五个孩子，我的房子绝对是我买过最昂贵的物品。
我还听说您会过安息日。
是的。
为什么它对您而言这么重要？
我小时候根本不遵守教义规定。但后来我变得更虔诚。这种转变并不是由什么好事引发的。在第一次创业失败后，我决定遵守犹太教的饮食规律。后来我决定更严格地遵守犹太教的规定。最后，由于生活和家庭中发生的多件事，我认为最好遵守安息日。过去十年我一直这样做。
我身边的人很清楚我的状况，他们知道一旦发生严重危机能如何联系到我。幸运的是，我还没有被要求在安息日参加其他活动。
您曾说过除了安息日，您每天工作20至22个小时。您把大量时间用于工作。
这并不值得骄傲。我有失眠症，所以睡得不多。尽管如此，我清楚这并不健康。
您如何发展Nextiva公司？继iPower之后，Nextiva如何实现蓬勃发展？
我一直在寻找市场机会。50多年来，通讯领域鲜有创新。我们知道我们可以在通讯领域产生显著影响，因为该领域发展非常迅速。
由于通讯渠道数字化，我预计人们将有更多沟通方式。尤其是随着时间推移，各世代偏好将发生变化。
因此，我们确立的公司使命是，将所有通信集成到一个平台，使所有公司，尤其是非技术类公司，可以与一些大型科技公司公平竞争，使所有人都有对抗科技巨头的能力。
您目前的资产净值有多少？
不知道，我并不关注这个问题。我也不想谈论，因为我不会跟孩子们讨论我的资产。但肯定是一笔庞大的财富。
有道理。对希望积累财富的人们，您认为最重要的建议是什么？
我有三条建议。创业者在创业时，不仅要寻找市场空白，还要从空白领域中找到市场。即使你有好创意，而且市场上没有相关产品，你也必须评估人们是否愿意为你的创意买单。这会真正提高你成功的概率。
其次，公司创立之后，尤其是在初期，要创建一款能给付费用户创造更多价值的产品。因为它能帮助你树立口碑，从而获得客户推荐。如果你像我们一样提供订阅服务，你就能大幅延长客户留存时间。
第三条建议是要更专注于发展公司业务，而不是公司的财务业绩。一些创业者会犯这个错误，忽视了公司业务的发展。但如果你专注于发展业务，公司的财务业绩可能会显著好转。
我有一条原则就是没有退出策略。我曾经卖掉公司，曾收购过公司，也曾将公司上市；这条原则并不意味着我永远不会退出。但它让我专注于努力打造最优秀的公司。
如果有人想积累财富，他从您的个人经历中得到最大的启示是什么？
或许就是不要过度专注于积累财富，而是要更重视他们所扮演的社会角色，以及如何成为有生产力的社会成员，为社会做出贡献。
每天早上，当你起床并开始工作时，会有人依赖你的角色。晚上结束工作之后，你要问自己一个问题：团队在有我参与和没有我参与时，在哪种情况下会变得更好？如果答案是在有我参与的情况下团队变得更好，这代表你已经做好了自己的工作。
您在波兰长大，生活并不富裕。现在显然您已经拥有巨额财富。您如何培养孩子的金钱观？
节俭很重要。在这方面，我妻子比我做得更好。我们经常告诉孩子要勤俭节约。我们不过奢侈的生活，旅行的方式也很简朴。我最喜欢乘坐西南航空（Southwest）。我经常从达拉斯到斯科茨代尔旅行。你不仅要向孩子传达这种生活理念，还要在生活中言传身教。我们的房子也并非豪宅。他们确实因为与我们的关系能获得一些特权。但我们之所以不披露资产净值的原因之一是，我们的资产不应该和他们之间存在什么关联。
您会拒绝购买哪些物品？
我感觉定价过高的任何商品。在洛杉矶，连咖啡价格都高得离谱，这让我无法接受。
如果不买咖啡，您还有哪些替代选择？
我依旧会偶尔买咖啡，但我在办公室里会自己冲咖啡。有时候你一进餐厅，就知道会“被宰”。过去两年，通货膨胀导致世界发生了很大变化。我认为某些领域变得不合理。对我而言，不买定价过高的商品只是原则问题。（财富中文网）
翻译：刘进龙
审校：汪皓
欢迎来到《财富》杂志的最新栏目“我如何赚到第一桶金”。本栏目采访了目前最有影响力的人士，了解他们积累财富的过程。在本栏目中，来自世界各地的创始人、企业家、投资者和创作者分享他们的收入如何达到七位数，他们有哪些与众不同之处，以及他们对于积累财富的最佳建议。
对于托马斯·高尔尼，很难对他的身份进行界定。他是波兰移民，搬到美国的时候几乎身无分文（甚至不会说英语），他还是科技公司创始人，曾连续创业，他还曾做过报童，是五个孩子的父亲。他还是一位百万富翁，但他不愿意透露自己的具体身家。
但对于刚刚48岁的高尔尼，最准确的定义或许是他东山再起的能力。他第一次取得巨大成功是在进入千禧年之前，当时他大学肄业后搬到了洛杉矶，创立了一家网站托管公司。1998年该公司以数百万美元的价格售出，这让他变成了百万富翁。当时23岁的高尔尼本可以过上舒适的生活。但他第二次创业时成立的一家销售互联网广告的公司，却一败涂地，他的其他早期投资也损失惨重。他发现自己又回到了原点，甚至无力支付房贷。
但高尔尼坚定不移地想要在美国取得成功，他最初飞往美国就没有想过退路，这种精神意味着他不害怕从头再来。2001年10月，他创立了网站托管平台IPOWER，几年后，这家公司被收购，据媒体报道售价接近10亿美元。之后他又参与创建了另外三家网站托管公司，包括基于云的商业通讯软件公司Nextiva，这是他目前正在经营的公司。
高尔尼是个另类：他在“安息日”不工作，他拒绝花钱买高价咖啡，而且他承认自己“非常不适合为别人打工”，因为他不喜欢循规蹈矩。但他的事业却很成功：2021年，Nextiva从高盛（Goldman Sachs）融资2亿美元，估值为27亿美元。
所有人都在猜测高尔尼接下来会有哪些创业灵感，但他向《财富》杂志解释了是什么让他保持脚踏实地，决心继续寻找新的创业机会。
您在哪里长大？
共产党执政时期的波兰。我的父母都是工厂工人，我成长过程中根本没有机会接触到商业和创业。我出生于1975年，在波兰一直生活到14岁。在7岁左右的时候，我就有了要到美国的想法。在少年时期，我对美国的了解都是透过课本和美国电影，例如《华尔街》（Wall Street）和《90210》。
后来我住在德国，在上大学期间已经创建了两家公司。我碰巧认识了一个移民到美国回德国探亲的人。他对我所做的一切印象深刻，便邀请我加入他的公司。
于是，我毕业前两个月选择了辍学。1996年3月，我搬到洛杉矶，帮助他创建了一家网站托管公司，他给我提供“血汗股权”。三年左右的时间里，我每天只有3美元的生活费。最终，在1998年，这家公司被出售，我也因此赚到了第一个一百万，而且实际金额远不止一百万。
从经济角度，您如何评价您的童年生活？
非常拮据。我们没有车，主要交通工具是公共汽车。没有电话，只有黑白电视，而且只有一两个能看的频道。生活很简单，但我从来不觉得贫穷，我始终觉得自己得到了妥善的照顾。父母总是鼓励我要有更多追求。
在您小时候，是什么让您对商业和金融产生了兴趣？
我总是忙忙碌碌，经常组织活动，我还是不同倡议活动的领导者。当没有人愿意领头的时候，我总是会站出来。后来，我对解决市场上的大问题产生了兴趣。
在搬到德国之后，我的成长过程恰好赶上了PC革命。最初的PC都有DOS手册，你必须在电脑里输入长串的命令行才能执行任何操作。后来诞生了Windows 1.0，之后又有了Windows 2.0、Windows 3.0。那时候，你只需要点击一个按键，就能输入长串命令行，在电脑上进行操作。
这是我人生中的一个关键时刻。我当时不知道自己未来能做什么。但我希望能够使其他人更容易使用科技，因为我看到了Windows为所有人打开了市场，使人人都有机会进入市场。我想参与到那场科技革命当中。
您的第一份工作是什么？这份工作的收入有多少？您从中获得了哪些与金钱有关的启示？
我的第一份工作是在德国做报童。这份工作的收入相对微薄。我要在早上三四点起床去送报，然后去上学，下午则要经营我自己的公司。虽然我觉得送报这份工作做得不错，但我最后还是惨遭解雇。我认为我之所以喜欢创业，部分原因是我非常不适合为别人打工。我有自己的想法。了解德国社会体制的人都知道，德国是一个非常注重过程的国家，你必须遵守规则。但我不喜欢循规蹈矩。
我发现，如果自己创业，我会做得更好，因为我会设定自己的边界，我会改变现状。我不能接受当前的现状就是极限这种观念。我们可以创造新事物，可以精益求精。
您当时从事的是什么工作？
我成立了两家公司。一家倒闭了。这家公司的业务是销售CD，但效益不好。父亲替我感到难过，于是从我这里买下了一批CD，他成为我的第一位客户。
后来，我抓住了PC革命带来的机会。德国有一些大公司开始开展PC业务，但我想，我们可以做得更好，我们可以将个性化服务送到用户家中。于是我们开始创业[公司名为Trendsetter]，但当时我没有任何资本，所以，我必须一台一台地出售电脑。随着资本增多，我开始拓展业务。虽然它没有变成一家大公司，但对于一个18岁的男孩来说，这家公司依旧有重要的意义。
讲讲您获得邀请来到美国的那一刻吧。您如何实现来到美国的梦想？您经历了什么过程？
我为一个移民美国的人创业的时候，实际上是在上学的强制实习期间。
他回德国探亲时，看到我在做的事情，这给他留下了深刻印象。他正准备成立一家网站托管公司。那是在1996年，那家公司是世界上最早的网站托管公司之一。当时我们并不了解互联网的用途。他说，和我一起创业吧。虽然我不能给你任何保证，也付不起你的工资，但我会给你血汗股权。
于是我放下一切，最终来到美国做各种工作。我上午负责管理公司，晚上在餐厅和公寓楼代客泊车和清洁地毯，还在许多活动上做过侍者。我想方设法靠每天3美元的生活费维持生计，但我从未自怨自艾。我生活在我喜欢的国家和城市。
您前往美国之前能说哪几种语言？
波兰语和德语。我不会英语。实际上，我是在经营过程中，通过回复邮件和与生意伙伴沟通学会了英语。
我在六个月内就能用英语流利沟通。许多年之后，我的英语水平不断提高。不过二十多年后，我依旧有明显的口音。
您是否有过回德国的念头？
从来没有。我经历过一些非常艰难的时期，但德国的环境不适合我。对我而言，德国是一个风景秀丽的国家，人民能享受到良好的待遇，但这个国家非常保守，人们要遵守许多规则。我却是一个喜欢无拘无束的人。我认为美国商机无限。
您提到您每天的生活费只有3美元。您是否不得不使用信用卡，例如签账卡，或者您不得不举债？
初到美国的时候，你必须积累自己的信用。我在支付了一套公寓的首付之后，很快就变得身无分文。贷款机构愿意为我提供的贷款还不如我的存款多。因此我当时没有任何信用贷款。最初，我也没有社保号码。我申请了一个社保号码，并且不得不聘请了律师，因为这样我就可以合法留在美国。而这让我变得捉襟见肘。
即使每天的生活费只有3美元，也没什么大不了。我和一位朋友经常在周日去Sizzler吃自助餐。一顿自助餐只需要7美元。我们两人凑了一笔钱，这样总是可以有一个人去吃自助餐。那是我每周对自己的奖励。
您当时如何积累财富？
我并没有有意积累财富。我始终专注于公司的经营。我们知道有网站的人越来越多，但经营一个网站依旧成本高昂。我们是最早的网站托管公司之一。很快，大股东开始收到收购这家公司的要约，条件很诱人。
尽管我只是少数股东，而且如果出售公司，我或许可以获得更多利益，因为我并没有公司的控制权，但我还是不太情愿出售公司。我向他提出了反对意见。我说：‘你看，市场正在扩张。最终所有人都会有自己的网站。’他在1998年决定卖掉公司，两年半后，他兑现了我们之间的约定，于是我真得在一夜之间拥有了数百万美元。
最初收购公司的要约价格是多少？
200万至600万美元之间，交易方式是现金和股票组合。我能获得如此丰厚的回报，原因之一是收购我们的公司最终上市。我们选择的交易方式是三分之二的现金加三分之一的股份。仅这些股份的价值最终就达到数千万美元。
您在多大的时候成了百万富翁？
在刚到23岁的时候。
对于一个23岁的年轻人来说，这是一笔巨额财富。您当时有什么心路历程？您是否考虑过聘请一位理财顾问？
我没有太多或好或坏的想法。我买了一套不错的房子，首付不到100,000美元。我花40,000美元买了第一辆车，那是一辆梅赛德斯（Mercedes）。如果你了解洛杉矶，你就知道绝对不能依赖公共交通。我与我信任的人一起，将剩下的钱用来投资。很可惜，这是我犯下的错误之一。
在此期间，软银（Softbank）也投资了我们的一家公司。我和软银一起投资创立了这家公司。那是在1998年至1999年期间。两年后，众所周知，泡沫破灭。我在一些我信任的人身上犯了一个错误，所有资金几乎损失殆尽。到2001年年中，我已经不知道该如何偿还下个月的房贷。
当时是一种什么状况？
我并没有变得消沉，我依旧认为市场中商机无限。正如我所说的那样，我曾建议前一家网站托管公司的老板不要将公司出售。通过研究网站托管行业，我认为该领域依旧有巨大商机。没有人能实现我设想的愿景：让非技术用户更容易托管网站，跳过中间商，使网站托管的价格更容易承受。
当时911事件结束后不久，那或许是最不适合创业的时期之一，但我决定创业。我持有的股份曾经价值高达800万至1,000万美元，但一度暴跌至6,000美元。
我最后清算了这些股份，并购买了两台服务器，用于创建网站托管公司。当时我有良好的信用状况。后来我在自家地下室里，使用美国运通（American Express）的贷款创建了网站托管公司[iPower]。然后我在其他人的办公室里租了一个很小的隔间，并将其改造成小型办公室。我招聘了几名员工。
我们成了美国增长速度最快的网站托管公司。两年内，我们变成全世界增长速度最快的网站托管公司。公司在一年内的市值就超过了1,000万美元。
2007年，我们与另外一家比我们规模更小的公司合并。我们在合并后继续拓展网站托管业务。2011年，我们以近10亿美元的价格将公司出售，后来公司成功上市。如今，它成为仅次于GoDaddy的全球第二大网站托管公司。
您在创建iPower时，用了多长时间使它的市值突破1亿美元？
公司市值用了约六年时间达到1.5亿美元。
当时，当您得到一大笔工资或某项收入时，您是否觉得这是一笔不可思议的巨额财富，或者您只是想着我要专注于公司经营，别无其他想法？
在创业之初，我就给自己制定了三条原则：与优秀的人共事，打造能为客户创造非凡价值的产品，保证我们能够独立掌控自己的命运。
我个人还有一个原则——如果我每个月能赚5,000美元，并且可以偿还房贷，我可以一直这样生活下去。在创业初期，我们一天只签约了三位客户，因为我们的技术仍在开发过程中。
我经历了起起伏伏，我真得不想再重复这样的日子。我只是尽量专注于新的商机。新软件发布后，我们的客户真得在一夜之间从每天3人，增加到每天200人，一个月内达到了2,000名客户。几个月内，我们的客户突破10,000人。到第一年年底，我们的客户达到60,000人。
除了房子和车子以外，您有没有购买过非常昂贵的物品？或者您只是专注于发展公司和追求成功？
我始终专注于公司的运营。我更喜欢用我对市场的影响力来定义自己，而不是我的资产净值。除了创业以外，我没有太多其他兴趣。我这个人很无聊。每当我们在市场上取得一定的成就时，我会开始寻找新的商机。
您曾买过最昂贵的物品是什么？
可能是那套房子。多年来，随着家庭成员越来越多，我买了几栋大房子。我有五个孩子，我的房子绝对是我买过最昂贵的物品。
我还听说您会过安息日。
是的。
为什么它对您而言这么重要？
我小时候根本不遵守教义规定。但后来我变得更虔诚。这种转变并不是由什么好事引发的。在第一次创业失败后，我决定遵守犹太教的饮食规律。后来我决定更严格地遵守犹太教的规定。最后，由于生活和家庭中发生的多件事，我认为最好遵守安息日。过去十年我一直这样做。
我身边的人很清楚我的状况，他们知道一旦发生严重危机能如何联系到我。幸运的是，我还没有被要求在安息日参加其他活动。
您曾说过除了安息日，您每天工作20至22个小时。您把大量时间用于工作。
这并不值得骄傲。我有失眠症，所以睡得不多。尽管如此，我清楚这并不健康。
您如何发展Nextiva公司？继iPower之后，Nextiva如何实现蓬勃发展？
我一直在寻找市场机会。50多年来，通讯领域鲜有创新。我们知道我们可以在通讯领域产生显著影响，因为该领域发展非常迅速。
由于通讯渠道数字化，我预计人们将有更多沟通方式。尤其是随着时间推移，各世代偏好将发生变化。
因此，我们确立的公司使命是，将所有通信集成到一个平台，使所有公司，尤其是非技术类公司，可以与一些大型科技公司公平竞争，使所有人都有对抗科技巨头的能力。
您目前的资产净值有多少？
不知道，我并不关注这个问题。我也不想谈论，因为我不会跟孩子们讨论我的资产。但肯定是一笔庞大的财富。
有道理。对希望积累财富的人们，您认为最重要的建议是什么？
我有三条建议。创业者在创业时，不仅要寻找市场空白，还要从空白领域中找到市场。即使你有好创意，而且市场上没有相关产品，你也必须评估人们是否愿意为你的创意买单。这会真正提高你成功的概率。
其次，公司创立之后，尤其是在初期，要创建一款能给付费用户创造更多价值的产品。因为它能帮助你树立口碑，从而获得客户推荐。如果你像我们一样提供订阅服务，你就能大幅延长客户留存时间。
第三条建议是要更专注于发展公司业务，而不是公司的财务业绩。一些创业者会犯这个错误，忽视了公司业务的发展。但如果你专注于发展业务，公司的财务业绩可能会显著好转。
我有一条原则就是没有退出策略。我曾经卖掉公司，曾收购过公司，也曾将公司上市；这条原则并不意味着我永远不会退出。但它让我专注于努力打造最优秀的公司。
如果有人想积累财富，他从您的个人经历中得到最大的启示是什么？
或许就是不要过度专注于积累财富，而是要更重视他们所扮演的社会角色，以及如何成为有生产力的社会成员，为社会做出贡献。
每天早上，当你起床并开始工作时，会有人依赖你的角色。晚上结束工作之后，你要问自己一个问题：团队在有我参与和没有我参与时，在哪种情况下会变得更好？如果答案是在有我参与的情况下团队变得更好，这代表你已经做好了自己的工作。
您在波兰长大，生活并不富裕。现在显然您已经拥有巨额财富。您如何培养孩子的金钱观？
节俭很重要。在这方面，我妻子比我做得更好。我们经常告诉孩子要勤俭节约。我们不过奢侈的生活，旅行的方式也很简朴。我最喜欢乘坐西南航空（Southwest）。我经常从达拉斯到斯科茨代尔旅行。你不仅要向孩子传达这种生活理念，还要在生活中言传身教。我们的房子也并非豪宅。他们确实因为与我们的关系能获得一些特权。但我们之所以不披露资产净值的原因之一是，我们的资产不应该和他们之间存在什么关联。
您会拒绝购买哪些物品？
我感觉定价过高的任何商品。在洛杉矶，连咖啡价格都高得离谱，这让我无法接受。
如果不买咖啡，您还有哪些替代选择？
我依旧会偶尔买咖啡，但我在办公室里会自己冲咖啡。有时候你一进餐厅，就知道会“被宰”。过去两年，通货膨胀导致世界发生了很大变化。我认为某些领域变得不合理。对我而言，不买定价过高的商品只是原则问题。（财富中文网）
翻译：刘进龙
审校：汪皓
Welcome to “How I Made My First Million,” Fortune’s newest series in which we interview today’s most powerful people about how they amassed their wealth. You’ll hear from founders, entrepreneurs, investors, and creatives across the globe on how they joined the seven-figure-club, what they’d do differently, and their best piece of advice for building wealth.
Tomas Gorny is difficult to categorize. He’s a Polish immigrant who moved to the U.S. with absolutely nothing (not even the ability to speak English), a tech founder, a serial entrepreneur, a former paperboy, and a father of five. He also has millions—but he won’t tell you how much.
But perhaps Gorny, who just turned 48, is best defined by his ability to rise from the ashes. His first major success came just before the turn of the millennium, when, after dropping out of college, he moved to Los Angeles to work on a website hosting business, which sold in 1998 for several million dollars, making him a millionaire. Gorny, then 23, should have been set for life. But his next endeavor—a business selling Internet ads—crashed spectacularly, along with the rest of his early investments. He found himself back at square one, unable to pay his mortgage.
But Gorny’s insistence on making it in the U.S.—he considered his flight here to be a one-way ticket—meant he was undaunted by starting over. He founded web-hosting platform IPOWER in October 2001, which a few years later would be acquired for reportedly almost $1 billion. He’s since co-founded three more companies in the web hosting space, including his current business Nextiva, a cloud-based business communications software firm.
Gorny is unorthodox; he doesn’t work on the Sabbath, he refuses to shell out for overpriced coffee, and by his own admission, is “not very hireable” because he doesn’t take well to following rules. But he’s doing something right; Nextiva received $200 million in funding from Goldman Sachs in 2021, giving it a $2.7 billion valuation.
It’s anyone’s guess where Gorny will find inspiration next, but he revealed to Fortune what keeps him grounded and determined to keep searching.
Where did you grow up?
Communist Poland. My parents were essentially factory workers. My exposure to business and entrepreneurship was non-existent. I was born in 1975, and [for] the first 14 years of my life, I lived there. I already knew, by around the age of seven, that I wanted to come to America. As a teenager, my exposure to the U.S. was really through textbooks and American movies like Wall Street and 90210.
I was, at this time, living in Germany, and already started a couple of businesses while going to college. And I happened to know somebody who moved to the U.S. and returned for a visit. He was very impressed with everything I was doing, and he offered me to join his business.
So I dropped out of school two months before graduating, and in March of 1996, I moved to Los Angeles to help him to start a web site hosting business for sweat equity. For about three years, I was living off $3 a day. Finally, in 1998 the business ended up selling, and that’s how I made my very first million—and significantly more.
What would you say your life was like during childhood, financially?
Very constrained. We didn’t have a car. Our primary form of transportation was a bus. We didn’t have a telephone, we had black and white TV, where there were a couple of channels to stream. Life was very simple. I never felt poor, I always felt that I was well-taken care of. And my parents always encouraged me to do more.
What got your interest in business and finance when you were younger?
I was always hustling around, always the organizer, the leader of different initiatives. I always stepped in when there was nobody willing to lead. Later in my life, I developed a taste for solving big problems in the market.
When we moved to Germany, I grew up during the era of the PC revolution. And the very first PCs had the DOS manuals, where you had to really write those long string command lines on your computer to get anything done. And then Windows 1.0 came around, Windows 2.0, Windows 3.0. At hat point, you were able to do everything you had to do with typing those long string command lines, just with a click of a button.
That was a pivotal moment in my life. I said, I don’t know what I’m going to do in my life. But I want to be a part of making tech easier for other people. Because I saw how Windows opened the market to everybody and made it accessible. I wanted to be part of the tech revolution.
What was your first job? How much money did you make doing it? What did it teach you about money?
A paperboy in Germany. It made relatively very little. I was literally waking up at three or four in the morning, doing the paperboy job, going to school, and in the afternoon, I was running my business. Although I thought I was doing a good job, I ended up getting fired. I think part of the reason why I’m entrepreneurial is because I’m not very hireable. I have a mind on my own. And if anybody knows how Germany functions, it’s a very process-oriented country. You have to follow the rules. I am not a rule follower.
I found that I will be ultimately better on my own because I set boundaries, I changed the status quo. I don’t accept that what exists today is the limit. We can create new things, and we can make them better.
What was the job that you were running?
I started a couple of companies. One has failed. [I was] just selling CDs, and it wasn’t going well. And my dad felt bad for me and ended up buying a bunch of CDs for me—he became my very first customer.
Later, I really took advantage of the PC revolution. And there were some big companies in Germany building businesses, but I thought, we can do it better by delivering personalized service, right to people’s homes. We started building that business [called Trendsetter], and I didn’t have any capital. So I literally needed to sell one computer at a time. Eventually, as the capital grew, I started expanding that, and it became not a large business, but it was still substantial for an 18-year-old boy.
Talk me through that moment when you got the offer to come to the United States. How did you manifest that? What were your steps to get there?
When I was building my business for the person who moved to America, I was actually doing a mandatory internship for him while I was going to school.
As he was coming back to visit his family in Germany, he saw what I was doing with the businesses, and he was very impressed. He was just about to start a website hosting company. It was 1996, one of the very first website hosting companies in the world. We didn’t know what the internet would do at that point. He says, join me. There are no guarantees, I cannot afford to pay you, but I will give you sweat equity.
I dropped everything, ended up in the U.S. doing various jobs. While I was looking at the business in the morning, at night I was parking cars, cleaning carpets at restaurants and apartment buildings, doing various waiter jobs at events. I was doing whatever it took to survive on three bucks a day, but I never pitied myself. I was living in the country and the city I loved.
What languages did you speak prior to coming to the United States?
Polish and German. I didn’t speak English. Essentially, I ended up learning by answering emails and by interacting with people in the business.
Within six months, I was able to communicate fairly well. And then over many, many years, my skills have improved. Twenty-plus years later, I still have a pretty significant accent.
Did you ever have a thought like, maybe I should move back to Germany?
No, and I went through some very tough times. But Germany wasn’t the right environment. For me, it’s a beautiful country and treats people well, but it’s a very conservative country and lived by a lot of rules. I’m more of a free spirit. For me, America was the land of opportunity.
You mentioned you had to live off $3 a day, essentially. Did you ever have to take out credit cards, like charge cards, or get into debt?
Back then, when you came to America, you had to build your own credit. I ran out of money very, very quickly by putting a down payment on an apartment. My deposit was larger than the credit that they would give me. So I didn’t have any credit. At the beginning, I didn’t have a social security number. I applied for one, and I needed to hire a lawyer, so I could stay legally in the country. So all of that, you know, will put a big strain on my financial position.
Even with living on $3 a day, it wasn’t a big deal. A friend of mine and I would always on Sundays made the trip to Sizzler—all you can eat. It was essentially a $7 meal. We put a bunch of our money together, and one of us was always going to the buffet. That was my treat for the week.
How were you able to accumulate wealth at that time?
I wasn’t. The goal was really to focus on the business. We knew that more and more people would have websites, but having a website was still expensive. We were one of the very first website hosting companies out there. And very, very quickly, the majority owner started getting pretty good offers for the business.
I was a little bit reluctant, although I was the minority owner, and I probably had more interest in selling the business because I wasn’t in control. I was advising him against this. I said, ‘Look, this market is going to expand. Eventually everybody will have a website.’ And he decided to sell in 1998 and, two-and-a-half years later, he honored the arrangement that we had, and I ended up becoming a multi-millionaire literally overnight.
What were the first offers?
They were in the range of $2 to $6 million, and it was a cash and stock deal. But the reason it dropped out so beautifully is because the company who acquired us ended up going public. And we took two-thirds in cash and one-third in stock. The stock alone ended up being in the tens of millions of dollars.
You’re how old when you got the million dollars?
I had just turned 23.
That’s a lot of money for 23-year-olds. What was your thought process? Did you think about getting a financial advisor?
Not quite, for good or bad. I bought a modest house, where I put down a down payment of less than $100,000. I bought my very first car—a Mercedes—for $40,000. If you know LA, you know you cannot rely on public transportation. The rest I invested, along with people I trusted. Unfortunately, that was part of my mistake.
Along the way, Softbank also came around and invested in one of our businesses. And I invested along with Softbank to start the business. This was all in 1998 to 1999. Two years later, you know, the bubble bursts. Some of the people that I trusted, I made a mistake on, and all of that money was essentially gone. By the middle of 2001, I didn’t know how to pay my next mortgage.
What was that moment like?
I wasn’t down on myself, I still saw the market as a huge opportunity. As I mentioned, I was advising the prior owner of the website hosting company not to sell. And I looked at the website hosting landscape, and I said to myself, there’s still a huge opportunity. Nobody has done what I envisioned doing: making website hosting easier for the non-technical users, taking the middleman out, making it significantly more affordable.
Around that time, right after September 11, was probably one of the worst times to start the business. I decided to start a business. At one point, the stock that I had, which was worth probably between $8 to $10 million crashed and was worth $6,000.
I ended up liquidating that stock and buying a couple of servers for the web hosting company. At that point, I had good credit. And then I started the website hosting company [iPower] on an American Express out of my basement. Later, I rented a very small closet in somebody else’s office and converted it to a little office. Then I put a couple of people in.
We became the fastest growing website hosting company in the United States. Within a couple of years, we were the fastest growing website hosting company in the world. The business was, within a year, worth more than $10 million.
In 2007, we merged with another business that was a little bit smaller than we were. Together, we continued to build the business. In 2011, we sold that business for nearly a billion dollars, then we took it public.Today, it is the second largest website hosting company after GoDaddy.
When you started iPower, how long did it take for you to pass the $100 million-dollar plateau?
It took us around six years to get to $150 million.
When you got a paycheck or something at that time, and it was for an exorbitant amount of money, did you ever have the thought of, this is an insane amount of money, or it was just kind of, No, I’m just focusing on it?
When we started, I set three rules for myself: Working with great people, creating a product that provides amazing value to customers, and making sure that we can stay independent and in charge of our own destiny.
And I had some personal rules—if I can just get to making $5,000 a month and pay for that mortgage, I can live like that forever, literally. I was still in the very early days, where we were signing just three customers a day because we were still developing our tech.
I came from this up and down, where I wasn’t trying to make it back. I was just trying to focus on the new opportunity. When we launched the new software, we literally overnight went from three customers a day, 200 customers a day, 2,000 a month. Within a couple of months, we were acquiring 10,000 customers. We got, by the first end of the first year to 60,000.
Did you ever purchase anything outside of the house or car that was really expensive? Or were you just focusing on putting it towards the business and letting it succeed?
Always focusing on the business. I define myself more by the impact I can make in the marketplace versus my net worth. And generally, I don’t have that many interests outside of the business. I’m a pretty boring guy. We accomplished one piece in the market, and I was looking for the next opportunity.
What is the most expensive thing you’ve ever purchased?
It probably would be that house. Over the years, I purchased some larger homes because my family grew. I have five children, but the house definitely was my largest purchase.
I’ve also heard you observe the Sabbath.
Yeah, I do.
Why is that important to you?
When I grew up, I wasn’t observant at all. Eventually I became more religious. That was sometimes triggered by not-so-positive events. When my first business went down, I decided to keep kosher. Later, I decided to be a little bit more observant. Eventually, because of various circumstances in our life and family, I decided it would be good to keep Shabbat. For the last 10 years, that’s what I’ve been doing.
The people around me are very much aware of the circumstances, they know how to reach me, ultimately, if there will be a huge crisis. And, thankfully, I haven’t been required to jump in on Shabbat yet.
You’ve said you work 20 to 22 hours a day, except for Shabbat. That’s a lot of hours.
It’s not a proud statement. I just have insomnia, so I don’t sleep that much. But having said that, look, it’s not a healthy thing. I know that.
How did you develop Nextiva? How did that come into development from iPower?
I was looking at market opportunities. There was very little innovation in communication done for over 50 years. And we knew that we can make a significant impact in communication given that the world of conversation was developing very quickly.
Because of the digitization of communication channels, I anticipated there will be more ways for people to have conversations. Especially because generational preferences will change over time.
So we made it our mission to be the company that brings all conversations together in one place, and allows every business, especially the non-technical businesses, to really be able to level the playing field between some of those really large technical businesses, so people can compete against the big giants.
What would you say your total net worth is today?
I don’t know. I generally don’t pay attention to this. I also don’t want to talk about it because I don’t talk about it to my children. But it’s substantial.
Fair enough. What would be the number one piece of advice you’d give us all looking to accumulate wealth?
I have three pieces of advice. When an entrepreneur starts a business, he or she not only should be looking for the gap in the market, but for the market in the gap. Even if you have a good idea, and there is a lack of a product in the market, you really have to assess whether people will be willing to pay for it. And that truly increases your chances of success.
Secondly, after you establish this, create a product, especially in the early stage, that delivers more value that people are paying for. Because it establishes word of mouth, it allows you to get referrals. And if you’re in a subscription business like us, you will be able to keep your customer significantly longer.
The third is to focus more on building a business, versus focusing on the financial outcome of the business. Some entrepreneurs make that mistake and forget to build a business. But when you focus on building the business, the financial outcome will be maybe significantly better.
I have the rule of no exit strategy. And I have sold businesses, bought businesses, taken businesses public; that doesn’t mean that I never will do this. But it puts me in the frame of mind that I am focusing on creating the best business possible.
What is the biggest takeaway someone who wants to build wealth can glean from your personal journey?
Probably not so much focusing on wealth accumulation, more focusing on which role and how they can be productive members of society and how they contribute to it.
When you wake up every morning, and you get on the field, there will be people that rely on you. So when you get off that field at night, you’ve got to ask yourself the question: Was the team better with me or without me? If the answer is positive, you have done your part.
Growing up, you’re in Poland and didn’t have a whole ton of money. Now, obviously, your wealth is extensive. How do you teach the value of money to your kids?
The main thing is frugality. And my wife is actually significantly better at that than I am. They hear that from us all the time. We don’t live a lavish life. We don’t travel lavishly. My airline of preference is Southwest. I travel often from Dallas to Scottsdale. You can not only just communicate it to them, but they see how we’ll live. Even the homes that we live in. Yes, they are very privileged by association. But you know, part of the reason why we’re also not disclosing our net worth: It should be irrelevant.
What are some things you refuse to spend money on?
Anything I feel is overpriced. Even coffee prices in LA have been astronomical, I just cannot get myself around that.
What’s your alternative to buying coffee?
I still do it off and on, but I make my coffee in the office. But there are times that you just go into restaurants and you know you’re being gouged. The world has changed quite a bit over the last couple of years with inflation. I think in some areas, it became very unreasonable. To me, it’s just a matter of principle.
