Johnny Boufarhat is one of the world’s youngest self-made billionaires — with a fortune of $3 billion — and the 27-year-old has an allergy to thank for his meteoric rise. In 2015, a severe allergic reaction confined him to his home, limiting his in-person interactions and  virtually cutting him off from the world.

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It was during these years of isolation at his London apartment that Boufarhat developed a billion-dollar idea. From his tiny kitchen table, Boufarhat started writing a code in 2019 for an online events platform. This code set the foundation for a start-up, Hopin Ltd. 

This month, the fledgling company raised $450 million from investors, including Brad Gerstner’s Altimeter Capital Management at a $7.8 billion valuation, reports bloomberg.com. Boufarhat’s stakes are now estimated to be worth about $3.2 billion, making him one of the world’s youngest self-made billionaires, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

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The early version of Hopin allowed users to attend break-out sessions during events and network with attendees through automated one-on-one video meetings. The self-taught programmer initially planned to launch the platform in September 2020, but the pandemic forced him to advance the scheduled release by six months.

The business boomed soon after. From six employees at the start of 2020 to more than 800 now, the company grew through acquisitions, buying several businesses along the way. Video technology firms StreamYard, Streamable and Jamm were among them. In June, the London-based firm announced the purchase of Boomset, a management platform for in-person and hybrid events, and the next month it acquired event-marketing firm Attendify.

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Born in Australia to parents from Lebanon and Armenia, Boufarhat moved as a teenager to the UK. He graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering and management from the University of Manchester, where he developed an app for students to find discounts, the website  reports.

Confident that the world will never return to pre-pandemic days, Hopin’s chief executive officer, who now lives in Spain, initiated a new round of fundraising to sustain a fully remote workforce. 

“Our future will be one in which people can partake in the experiences that matter to them — wherever they are,” Bloomberg reported him as saying.