How a homeless high school dropout became CEO of a US$1bil company

Having the last laugh: Kobayashi says he wants to live his life doing what he enjoys. Sun* customers include Masayoshi Son’s SoftBank. — Bloomberg

Taihei Kobayashi has gone from sleeping on the streets of Tokyo to heading a technology startup whose market value topped US$1bil.

His rags-to-riches story is among the most remarkable to emerge from a small-cap stock boom that’s minting fortunes in Japan. Kobayashi’s company, which helps startups and other firms to design and create new businesses and products, went public in July and its shares have since more than tripled.