Man Abandoned in a Dumpster As a Baby Is Now a Computer Wiz With a Multimillion-Dollar Telecom Company

Man Abandoned in a Dumpster As a Baby Is Now a Computer Wiz With a Multimillion-Dollar Telecom Company
(Illustration - Shutterstock)
12/13/2019
Updated:
12/13/2019

Freddie Figgers is one of the youngest and most accomplished entrepreneurs in the United States, having founded the country’s first minority-owned telecommunications company and designed numerous innovations, including cloud-computing systems, smartphone handsets, and remote data-tracking systems for hospitals.

But this rising star might never have survived much past birth. When he was just hours old, Figgers was abandoned in a dumpster by his biological parents. Thankfully, he was discovered and “was adopted at two days old by two lovely parents,” as he explained in a video for his phone company, Figgers Wireless, on YouTube.

From these humble beginnings, Figgers, who is just 29 years old, has created a company valued at over $62.3 million and given back to the people and community that helped him succeed.

Despite his difficult beginnings, Figgers got an early start at working with electronics. When he was just 9 years old, Figgers acquired his first computer. “It was a broken computer, old MacIntosh, 1989,“ he told WFSU. While most people would have junked the old machine, Figgers ”would tinker with it for five or six times at home, [and] finally got the computer operational,” as he explained. Amazingly, the computer still runs well today.

From there, his attention turned to using technology to help people, namely his father, who was suffering from early-onset dementia. Figgers designed a GPS tracker and two-way communication device embedded in his dad’s shoes to ensure the family could find him, as he would often wander off. At age 12, Figgers got his first job as a computer technician in his hometown of Quincy, Florida.

When he was 15, a tornado hit the nearby town of Dothan, Alabama, and devastated a car dealership. Out of this tragedy came Figgers’s first venture into cloud computing. “The car dealership didn’t have any of their customers’ information on file,” he said. “That gave me a witty idea to start cloud computer services, which allowed them to back up all of their information in my back yard, not in a huge facility.”

Figgers found project after project that expanded his experience before finally making his first big invention. Building on the experience of helping keep track of his dad, Figgers designed a device “for remote monitoring for seniors that want to stay at home, but need that extra care and monitoring,” he told WFSU. He sold this to a medical supply company and made $2 million, which helped him set up his very own company.

“We’re the only minority-owned telecommunications company in the U.S.,” he said with pride in the video. “One thing that makes us very unique is that we manufacture our own handsets.” Having this control over design has allowed him to put his strong moral convictions into his F2 smartphone.

One feature is a built glucose blood meter for patients with diabetes. “As soon as you check your blood sugar, it sends that result instantly to your phone, shares it with your provider, which is your doctor, and your insurance carrier,” Figgers explained. Another feature ensures safe driving. “When the F2 is in motion, over 10 miles per hour, it automatically puts the SMS and the data into airplane mode,” he added.

Figgers has also done lots to give back, from funding scholarships for the minority entrepreneurs of tomorrow, to motivational speaking for schools and prisons. His advice to any young entrepreneur is simple: “Believe in what you do. Don’t let anyone talk down to you.”

As he tells young people starting out in technology and design, “People will not see your vision. People will not believe in you, but just believe in yourself and keep thriving.”