Friday December 1, 2000

Teen Millionaire

Ready for a few million reasons to buy your kid a PC? We found a teenager who turned his love of personal computers into a personal fortune. Mike Bryant has the big time consumer pay-off.

You've seen the Ameritrade commercial... A computer-savvy young "dude" gives the boss some Internet advice. But in the office of this multimillion-dollar firm, when 18 year old Mike Furdyk looks over your shoulder and gives you some tips... He isn't just making a suggestion. Mike's not an intern... He's a founder of the company.

He says, "I'm worth a few million dollars."

Mike's brainchild is www.buybuddy.com, a web site that provides comparison information for shoppers. Valued at $20 million, it's his second Internet venture. His first sold for more than a million when he was 16. He says, "Money just gives me the freedom to focus on what I'm interested in and what I love to. "I'm not different than I was before."

Mike was just three years old when he got his first computer. His parents, Marcia and Paul, told EXTRA he was hooked from that moment. Mike's mom says, "He would be on there for hours. He just loved it."

A little later, mike had a paper route, which his folks credit for giving him a sense of the value of money. And that may be why now, although he's hit it big and even rubbed shoulders with bill gates, he still lives at home.

He loves to play ball with his sister Sonya and brother Daniel. Like most 18 year olds, he listens to Barenaked Ladies and Smashmouth, and his leased Infiniti 4-by-4 is about his only concession to his amazing wealth. His mom says, "The money is hard to imagine but it's not what we concentrate on at home."

Mike Abramsky is C.E.O. of the Toronto-based buy-buddy. We asked him whether having such a fresh-faced executive - Mike's the youngest person in the office - doesn't scare off would-be backers. He says, "Not really. Once Michael opens his mouth, he has charmed customers and certainly gotten and inspired analysts and investors."

And this young man with an old head on his shoulders has an inspiring message for any other young people heading out into the business world.

Mike says, "If they're going to start a business to make money, that's really the wrong way to do it. Focusing on what's really important to you is the first step to achieving a bigger dream."