“That could be me on the streets—I could have been homeless or dead if I hadn’t been found by the dumpster after I was born." Abandoned by a dumpster, #FreddieFiggers has defied the odds in more ways than one. Growing up, Freddie was bullied by other kids in elementary being called the “dumpster baby.” “It’s a rural area, so after it happened, everybody heard about it,” said Figgers, now 30. “My parents told me the truth about what happened as I grew older. I thought about it a lot as a kid, and I’d have to say it was embarrassing when I was younger.” However, it was also during his elementary school years that Freddie found his passion for computers. His dad, Nathan, bought Freddie an old 1989 Macintosh at a thrift store for $25 to tinker with. It worked. At just 9-years-old, Freddie disassembled and reassembled the computer multiple times. Next, he figured out how to use some old radio parts to fix the Macintosh so it would power up. By 13, Freddie was so good at tinkering with computers the city of Quincy started hiring him to fix their computers. By 15, he started his first company out of his parents’ living room called Figgers Computers. He specialized in fixing computers and helping clients store data on servers he created. By Freddie’s early 20’s, Nathan Figgers developed Alzheimer’s. Before Nathan passed in 2014, Freddie had invented a GPS tracking, two-way communication device to help find and keep track of his dad when he would wander off confused. In spite of this difficult circumstance, Freddie was able to sell his GPS tracking invention to an undisclosed company for $2.2 million in 2012 at age 23. His company, Figgers Wireless which sells smartphones & data plans, was appraised in 2017 at more than $62 million. He sells a wireless blood glucose meter for people with diabetes that allows patients to download and share glucose levels through Bluetooth technology. And he is working on a project similar to his “smart shoe” technology to help families stay in touch with loved ones experiencing homelessness. Source: Lightworkers.com https://www.instagram.com/p/B7LxlNfgpEn/?igshid=1t4x1n6lj8vvp
