No there are many people who have become multimillionaires as a direct consequence of the disregard of school rules, but the British Jack Cator is one of them.
In 2005, Cator, then 16, was angry because her school in Norfolk in eastern England, had blocked access to the computer network of the institution. The aim was to prevent students from accessing music sites and games.
But he, as expert programmer, decided to use his knowledge to hack the system.
“I thought it would be funny to stick the blockade mounted by the school, “says Cator, now 26
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To do this, he used a website that simulates the fingerprint of a computer to route it through a remote server, usually located abroad, and allowing the user to surf the internet anonymously and private . Such sites frank users access the call virtual private network (VPN, its acronym in English).
Cator made of these operate networks, and quickly, instead of using a school computer to research their duty to home, enjoyed to watch your favorite music videos.
But unhappy with the quality of the then VPN providers, which, he said, were not easy to use and veiculavam much propaganda, Cator decided to launch themselves to a greater challenge:. create its own network
British Jack Cator, 26, created the Hide My Ass (HMA) a decade ago, when still at school
It took only one afternoon sitting in his parents house couch to put your foot site, christened with a name impossible to get out of his head – Hide My Ass (HMA, or “Hide My Back”)
Ten years have passed and Cator just sold his business -. of which he was the boss and the sole owner – the equivalent of R $ 190 million .
The HMA, which Cator turned into one of the largest VPN companies in the world without the input of any foreign investor, was acquired by AVG software giant.
Since the AVG It is bringing its portfolio to a company with 2 million customers, annual revenues of 11 million pounds (US $ 52 million) and a profit that exceeds 2 million (£ 9.5 million). Under the terms of the purchase agreement, Cator will continue as chief executive of HMA.
‘viralization’
Though only 16 when he created his network , Cator already understood deeply about art of promoting sites, and also about making money on the internet, to realize that the HMA could be a commercial success.
At that time he began promoting the site in internet forums to generate repercussions.
The HMA made money with the so-called “affiliate program”. Generally speaking, this means receiving, for example, a committee of a retailer site every time a user to access and purchase something there through an intermediary, in this case, Cator site.
On a month after its launch, the HMA had hundreds of thousands of users worldwide, and revenues of the order of 15,000 pounds (US $ 71,000) a year.
“I was very surprised how it all viralizou fast. Never set up a business plan or anything like that, “he recalls.
” I threw the whole site in a single afternoon. But if people think it’s a good cause, they will share it “.
With so much money in his pocket, Cator decided to stay in school and attend computer was in college.
But in 2009 he decided to drop out of college to devote himself fully to the HMA, creating a paid service that now has more than 200,000 subscribers. Join these other 2 million users who use the free basic version.
But in order for your business to grow, Cator realized he would need employees, he tried to engage in a regime collaboration.
HMA allows users to access sites that may be blocked
To begin with, he employed people with whom he had never spoken on the phone, perhaps met in person, including a developer of sites Kiev, Ukraine, and a director of customer service based in Belgrade, Serbia. For a long time, they only communicated by email with Cator still living at his parents’ home in Norfolk.
“I would strongly recommend this alternative because you do not spend a lot, does not need an office physical, and can find very talented people, “he says.
But as the company grew, Cator quickly realized the limitations of this system.
” One thing I regret is not having opened an office … and turn my business into a real company a little earlier, “he added.
” When you grow too fast, there comes a point where hire people remotely is not ideal – because there is a lot of confidence at stake. “says
” At one point, I had people working for me for seven or eight countries, and you do not know who they are to some extent, “claims.
Cator adds that the final straw came when one of his employees tried to create a competing company.
In 2012, the couple decided to seek a ceiling physical for your company. He opened an office and become very time employees full-time employees.
That same year Cator moved to London, where he has established HMA in the Soho neighborhood. Meanwhile, other offices were opened in Belgrade (Serbia) and in Kiev (Ukraine).
Currently, 100 employees work in the HMA, whose sales doubled every year.
Controversy
VPN providers like HMA offer users numerous advantages.
In addition to allowing people to access sites that occasionally are blocked in certain countries, companies as the Cator protect against the theft of personal information by hackers
However, VPS providers ─ which are blocked in countries like China and Iran. – have also been criticized <. /> p> Cator says name given to the company helped promote it
While people can use them to protect themselves on the Internet, they can also be used by those who want to erase their tracks on the networks.
Cator says the HMA is no longer susceptible to abuse than any other internet company, and always provide any information requested by the police.
With business expected to grow strongly now under the control of AVG, Cator adds that HMA was not only successful because of the service it offers.
“Our name has a key role in this,” he jokes.
“People are fascinated – then you hear, can not forget it”
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