Courtesy of Harry Sanders
- Harry Sanders was homeless for a year when he was 17.
- His social worker and mentor encouraged him to keep hope.
- His SEO company quickly expanded from Australia to the US and UK.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Harry Sanders, founder of StudioHawk. It has been edited for length and clarity.
Being homeless feels like a lifetime ago, but it was only 10 years. I grew up poor, with divorced parents who had their own struggles with homelessness and mental health. Still, I never imagined I’d be on the street. I live in Australia, and I thought the social safety net would be there if I needed it.
I had been living with my dad as a teen, but his new partner didn’t like me. She referred to me as “baggage.” When she told my dad to choose me or her, he chose her. I really didn’t see that coming.
That night, I had nowhere to go. My mom was in the throes of her own mental health issues and couldn’t help. I took my backpack with my laptop and slept under a bridge.
My social worker encouraged me to become an entrepreneur
The next day, I went to sign up for emergency housing and was told it was a six-month wait. That’s when I knew I was in big trouble.
I spent the next year homeless. Often, I was couch surfing. Sometimes I was in shelters. The streets were a last resort, and I tried not to be out there for more than two nights at a time.
Getting help was a lot harder than I imagined. The government didn’t help me with housing, but did connect me with a social worker named Carla. I was so low when we met that I snapped at her, “Are you going to find me housing or just waste my time like everyone else?”
Carla encouraged me to apply to a government program for entrepreneurs. That’s where I met my mentor, Graham — the other person who helped me become who I am today.
I cried when I could afford rent again
Graham was a grumpy old ex-CEO. I had been doing freelance SEO work, and I thought, “What is this old guy going to teach me about SEO?” It turns out he taught me a lot about business.
I’m an introvert, and the idea of networking was horrific to me, but Graham told me it would be worth it. He encouraged me to work directly with clients, instead of with freelance agencies. That was the start of my business.
After a few months of Graham’s mentorship, I had my first client, who recommended me to friends. Soon, I was making $750 a month freelancing, which was enough to get a room in a shared house. I’ll always remember the day I had a home again: September 12. I just bawled.
Eleven years later, I’m a multimillionaire
Graham said my business needed a name to seem more legit. I went with “studio” because it felt small, and I was a one-man show, and “hawk” because my competitors seemed to have animal names. I registered the Australian domain for StudioHawk, but I didn’t pay the extra $6 to register the .com. Years later, I paid $10,000 for that domain.
About a year into the business, I met a young guy who was about to be evicted. I gave him money to avoid being homeless and told him he could work it off. He became my first employee. That night I couldn’t sleep: I had just gotten a roof over my head, and now I had another person dependent on me.
Luckily, StudioHawk was soaring. I happened into a contract with OfficeWorks, a massive Australian company. After the success of that campaign, I was working with brands that are household names.
Today, StudioHawk is in Australia, the US, and the UK. In 2024, we did more than $12 million Australian dollars (about $7.8 million USD) in sales. I own 100% of the business. I’m 28, and I’m a multimillionaire.
I don’t think of myself as self-made
Everyone loves a self-made story, but I’m not self-made. Without Carla and Graham, none of this would have happened. I was so low and depressed that I had no hope for my life. They helped me find my drive. Today, Graham is on the StudioHawk advisory board, and I still speak with Carla occasionally.
Now I have the money to do things I couldn’t imagine, like snowboarding in New Zealand and Canada. I bought my mom a house and converted a dilapidated old chocolate factory into a four-story home for myself. It’s amazing the mental space I have now that I don’t have to worry about money.
I volunteer for an organization that fights youth homelessness. I share my story so that others can know that there’s hope if they can just find help. I was so beaten and defeated, but Carla and Graham gave me the push I needed to change my life.
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