If you were to sit in a room with Tomas Gorny, you’d never guess that he, an unassuming Polish émigré, sits atop a multibillion-dollar tech company. Nor would you likely guess that the company exists solely because Gorny believes so strongly in the transformative power of communications and customer experience. Nevertheless, that’s an accurate description of the man. But even more interesting is how he arrived at his present position in the first place. Gorny’s is a story of overcoming the odds and finding ways to succeed in situations others would deem hopeless. Here’s Tomas Gorny’s story and how his current company, Nextiva, is changing business communications for the better.
Betting on Himself
Tomas Gorny’s entrepreneurial journey began in the unlikeliest of places—communist Poland. He grew up in an era of economic stagnation, not long before the dissolution of the Soviet Union would bring chaos to Eastern Europe. Before that could happen, though, Gorny moved to Germany, where he would pursue a degree at a business school. But even then, he wasn’t content to bide his time and wait for an opportunity to knock.
At the age of 20, he found himself living in a tiny Los Angeles apartment and working odd jobs to get by. Between stints as a carpet cleaner and a valet parking attendant, Gorny lived a threadbare existence, subsisting on only three dollars per day. Fortunately, the deprivation didn’t last long.
From the Ground Floor to the Top and Back
Before long, Gorny turned his hard-won computer knowledge into a new opportunity. He took a job—which came without a salary—working for a web hosting startup called Internet Communications. In lieu of payment, Gorny accepted a 20% stake in the fledgling company. That stake would soon pay off handsomely.
When Internet Communications sold to a rival, Gorny became a newly minted millionaire overnight. But then, fate intervened again. Eager to grow his newfound wealth, Gorny invested the bulk of his earnings into some of the high-flying tech stocks of the day. But when the dot-com bubble burst in 2001, Gorny lost almost everything he had.
Then, with his bank account dwindling, he did the only thing an entrepreneur could do in that situation—start another business. By using his still-substantial credit card limits, Gorny funded and launched IPOWER, another business-focused web hosting venture. It grew fast and then merged with a smaller provider Endurance International Group. Then, when the latter sold to an investment group led by Goldman Sachs and Warburg Pincus for a staggering $975 million in 2011, Gorny was back on top once again.
A New Mission Emerges
With his financial security assured, Gorny then set about analyzing what it was that drove him to take on the challenges that he had. And the answer was found right in the name of the first company he’d taken a chance on years earlier: communication. He realized that the central functionality that made the Internet so revolutionary was its ability to help people communicate. And after seeing so many businesses use communications to their advantage, he decided to explore ways to iterate on that core idea.
That’s where Gorny’s next venture, Nextiva, sprang from. It’s a cloud business communications platform that enables businesses to provide a unified customer experience. To do it, Nextiva leverages the latest in AI technology and a best-in-class communications app that combines internal communications tools with multiple customer communication solutions. In short, it breaks down the communication walls that separate business teams from the customers they serve.
It’s an approach that seems as obvious as it is revolutionary. On the logic behind the approach, Gorny remarked, “Whether they’re calling in, texting, or posting on social media, customers are really just having one continuous conversation with your brand. We’re aligning the technology to meet customers wherever they are.” In other words, omnichannel communications are both what customers crave as well as what businesses need to serve them.
And it seems, so far, that Gorny’s intuition is right on the money. At the time of this writing, Nextiva has a valuation of $2.7 billion, holds over 50 technology patents, and remains the largest privately held communications firm in the entire US.
A Future With No Limits
Given his humble origins, you’d think that a man like Tomas Gorny would be more than satisfied with all he’s accomplished over the years. But you’d be wrong. Even now, he remains laser-focused on helping Nextiva evolve to meet the needs of today’s businesses and their customers. He espouses a firm belief in building a vision and working continuously to make it a reality. And a big part of his philosophy revolves around staying curious, asking the right questions, and remaining open to change. Perhaps that’s why he’s been able to get back up after suffering setbacks that may have crushed a less driven person. Or maybe he just understands something that others don’t—that believing in the power of communication as an essential component of business and personal success is a great way to always be in the right place at the right time.
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
Known for identifying cutting edge technologies, he is currently a Co-Founder of a startup and fundraiser for high potential early-stage companies. He is the Head of Research for Allocations for deep technology investments and an Angel Investor at Space Angels.
A frequent speaker at corporations, he has been a TEDx speaker, a Singularity University speaker and guest at numerous interviews for radio and podcasts. He is open to public speaking and advising engagements.