This story is for all of the folks who were told to “stop wasting time playing those video games” as children because it looks like one man’s love of gaming just landed him the big bucks.

At the age of 16, Josh Fabian emancipated himself from his white adoptive parents and ultimately dropped out of high school. Fast forward, and his gaming startup was valued at $105 million as of February 2022 — funny how life works out, right?

According to CNBC Make It, Fabian managed to raise $34 million from investors for Metafy, the online platform that he launched at the height of the pandemic. It offers amateur video gamers the opportunity to pay for coaching sessions led by some of the world’s top players.

The Best Of The Best

A top gamer himself, Fabian became a nationally ranked “Yu-Gi-Oh!” player as a teen and is a self-taught coder. His experience within the world of tech opened him up to opportunities that surpassed even his wildest dreams — especially given the fact that as a child he often felt isolated due to the color of his skin.

“I remember just feeling so invisible, just feeling like I didn’t fit in anywhere,” said Fabian. ”[I] wanted to be significant … To be seen as the best at something, in some way.”

What’s more, he seems like he’s on the right track. After teaching himself to code, doors opened up for Fabian, which proved to be life-changing.

Life-Changing Success

One moment, in particular, turned out to be a huge turning point for the 32-year-old, who became a father at a young age, and, at one point, had to depend on food stamps and steal necessities for his family to survive.

After landing a web designer job with the social marketplace startup Obaz in 2012, Fabian received not only a six-figure salary but landed equity in the company.

In 2015, after the company was acquired by Groupon, he received a “life-changing” amount of funds that allowed him the financial stability he had always dreamed of.

With no plans of letting up anytime soon, Fabian says his overall vision for Metafy is to be even bigger than companies like YouTube and Uber.

“I look to all those CEOs and I see them as rivals,” he explained. “Which is insane. I realize that sounds crazy, but I do.”