What happened to millionaire after going homeless to prove anyone can make $1 million went wrong
If you remember the guy who made himself homeless in a bid to have a 'million dollar comeback', you might be interested to know he has since shared an update on what happened next.
Mike Black is a millionaire entrepreneur who has co-founded several startups focused on the parking industry and recruitment.
But back in 2020, in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, he stepped away from his businesses and seven-figure wealth and started sleeping on benches.
After waving goodbye to his friends and family, and clearing out his bank account, Mike committed to the challenge - named the Million Dollar Comeback - in a bid to inspire others and show how you can go from 'nothing to something'.
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Black's first challenge was finding somewhere to sleep, after which he started selling free Craigslist furniture for a profit.
On the side, he also started doing odd jobs such as telemarketing and delivery work.
"One of the best things to sell are tables," he said. "I started taking ads on Craigslist in the free section, putting it on Facebook Marketplace and selling it for a profit.
"I acted as the middleman, handling all the logistics between the buyer and the seller."
He then went on to launch a coffee brand that donated proceeds to animal rescues.
But sadly, Black ultimately ended up finishing the project early after a number of personal challenges.
Why did Mike Black stop the Million Dollar Comeback early?
He suffered from severe health issues with autoimmune disease, which can lead to muscle weakness, joint pain and inflammation.
As a result, he said he saw 17 doctors in over 50 appointments and had to spend $20,000 on consultations and procedures.
At the same time, he also found out his father had been diagnosed with stage four cancer.
"I have officially decided to end the project early... I've been dealing with a lot of things personally... my health has declined to the point that I need to start taking care of it," said Black.
"A lot of what's come to light for me is what truly matters, health and gratitude."
In that time, he did, however, make $64,000 (£47k).
What is Mike Black doing now?
A few years on from the experiment, and Black shared an update about what had happened since.
In a 2023 video on his YouTube, he said: "I started a new business called Talent Stream, a recruiting agency, within three months of starting the business we're doing $100,000 a month, almost all profit. Things are going really, really good.
"We hired a couple of people, made some mistakes, hired better people, we have good people in place now and we're looking to keep growing and get through the down market. The other things that matter a lot more haven't been good.
"I also did sell Bark and Bailey for not so much, that was the coffee company I started during the Million Dollar Project... those are the main highlights."
Black also explained that his father passed away, adding: "It was something I knew was a very high probability of happening because the cancer was very advanced, so I spent a lot of time with him since I last posted.
"The last couple of months where he got sicker and sicker, I even moved into my parents' house to take care of him full time. I'm really just grateful for all the time I got to spend with him.
"You'll never look back on spending time with someone you care about and go 'I wish I didn't spend as much time with them', you only want to have spent more time with that person."
According to his social media profiles, he's still busy running Talen Stream, while dispensing business advice on Instagram on the side,
Topics: Social Media, YouTube, Money, US News
Lucy Devine