Sam Kroonenburg built a company from his bedroom, with him and his brother Ryan both making about $500 million. But Sam, 40, is doing what he can to avoid the trappings of wealth.
Already a subscriber?Rich Lister Sam Kroonenburg has made enough money that at just 40 years of age he can more than comfortably retire, send his five kids to Victoria’s best private schools and enjoy a life with all the trappings.
Kroonenburg and his brother Ryan, who spent their early years in Karratha, a hot, dusty Western Australian mining town, built A Cloud Guru, an online education company born out of Ryan’s frustration at not getting a job with Amazon. Sam built the technology from his bedroom.in 2021 for $2 billion to US company Pluralsight, making it one of the largest deals yet for an Australian tech company.
When he was considering starting a new company the couple had four kids under the age of five. Sam was working as an IT consultant and would get home and work on a start-up that was struggling. They were planning their first holiday away together. Then his brother Ryan called with an idea to build a company together, selling Ryan’s training module on how to get a high-paying job at Amazon.
The journey involved very tough moments. He opens up about the pressure his decisions put his family under. “I could only spend all that time in the business because my wife was holding down the fort at home and putting everything into the kids and the family to hold up the part of that I was kind of letting down.”
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
WiseTech’s Richard White, Pro Medicus founder Sam Hupert share secrets to becoming a Rich BossThere are good reasons why tech companies dominate this year’s Rich Bosses list.
Read more »
A Cloud Guru founder Sam Kroonenburg jumps on AI for ads with new start-up Cuttable, supported by Square Peg and Paul BassatThree years after selling A Cloud Guru in a bumper payday, Sam Kroonenburg is teaming up with advertising entrepreneurs with big plans and investors in tow.
Read more »
Scarlett Johansson says OpenAI’s Sam Altman would make a good Marvel villain after voice disputeActor, who claimed ChatGPT update used an imitation of her voice, says she declined to provide her own as ‘it went against my core values’
Read more »
AFR Rich Bosses 2024: The 10 wealthiest executives in the ASX 300 revealedThe Australian Financial Review’s Rich Bosses list for 2024 is dominated by tech and mining executives and also welcomes a new face.
Read more »
Young Rich List: Uber wealthy young Australians flocking to the French RivieraCashed-up, glamorous young Aussies have descended on Saint-Tropez and Monte Carlo, spending their time on superyachts and at $1500-plus per night hotels.
Read more »
ETFs: The surprising asset class the rich are using to build wealthAn increasing number of seasoned and wealthy investors are increasing their exposure to ETFs, an asset class that has been typically associated with the young.
Read more »