Andrew Michael: Internet Wiz

The internet and the growing tech industry present a lot of business opportunities. There are always new innovations to be unveiled and more services to offer. One of the people who has benefitted from this goldmine of opportunities is Andrew Michael, a serial entrepreneur and founder of a number of successful and well known tech companies. A wizard when it comes to the internet, Michael has come up with some of the most innovative companies and at 35 years old, there’s no sign that he’s slowing down anytime soon.

Michael was born in Cyprus in 1980, but he grew up in Charlton Kings in Cheltenham, UK. While most of the people his age had no idea what to do with their lives, he was already creating a path for himself in the tech industry. His first crack at starting up his own tech company was when he founded Fasthosts, a web hosting company that targets small businesses as clients. He was only 17 years old when he started the company as a project for his A-Level qualifications. The company grew over time and was sold to Germany’s United Internet for £61 million or roughly $94 million in 2006. He still has a 75% stake in the company.

After Fasthosts, Michael set his sights on another startup. He founded LiveDrive in 2008. LiveDrive is a cloud storage and backup system that is based in the UK. The company was only 3 months old when Michael was offered £100 million or $155 million but he turned it down. Instead he expanded and launched the company in the United States. He sold the company in 2014 and embarked on a new project. He launched Bark.com later in 2014. This new company matches people with professionals such as personal trainers, plumbers, caterers, and the like. Michael is now working with his new company fulltime.