Garrett Gee is, in my opinion, one of the most inspirational millionaires alive today. His story is quite enthralling– he was a college freshman when he (and 2 other guys) came up with the innovation of an app called Scan.
Does the black and white pixel-y looking mural look familiar to you? Gee and the other 2 creators incorporated the QR code into an app that would allow for users to easily and efficiently scan codes with their smartphones.
However, that’s not all.
Gee was a college freshman when he came up with the innovative idea, and he entered his idea in a student competition at Brigham Young University. The trio continued to grow their company in 2011, calling it Scan, Inc., and released their iOS application shortly after.
That’s still not all.
While Gee loved being an entrepreneur, he wanted to quit while he was ahead. His co-founders complied but had one condition, “that he help them raise the numbers before his exit” (source). This led them to Shark Tank.
…where he was rejected.
However, Snapchat strolled along in 2014 and bought the company for $54 million.
Recognize this?
Snapchat used Scan Inc’s technology to create the Snapcode.
There’s still more. While all 3 founders received a hefty amount of money and are millionaires, Gee decided that he would not make a dent in his funds. Instead, he and his wife sold all of their belongings, grabbed their two kids (aged 3 and 1, respectively), and hopped on a long excursion around the world. The family launched a blog as well as a social media profile where they raise a substantial amount of revenue.
So basically they’re living my dreams of traveling the world and making money while doing so.
Garrett Gee’s story is inspirational. He was fairly young, a freshman college student, when he came up with the idea. Like ENTR 101 students will be doing, he entered a competition for the idea and continued to build on it– creating a flourishing company and selling it. Not only that, he decided to keep his mitts off his funds and be smart about spending.
It’s heartening to hear that a college freshman underwent a long journey to success. Sometimes it can be discouraging when thinking about the long path ahead, but Gee proved that it is possible to achieve success while saving the millions and millions of money in the bank. Personally, I’m jealous of his life, but I’m also encouraged. He didn’t enjoy the office life, but enjoyed productivity and creation. Therefore, he decided to follow his passions– creating and traveling, as well as serving (they raised $75,000 to fund a school in India). He encourages others to follow their passions as well and is an embodiment of a wise millionaire.
