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Johnny Boufarhat

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Johnny Boufarhat
Born (1994-06-01) 1 June 1994 (age 30)
Sydney, Australia
NationalityBritish
EducationDubai American Academy
Alma materUniversity of Manchester
Occupation(s)Entrepreneur, businessman
Known forFounder of Hopin

Johnny Boufarhat (born 1 June 1994) is an Australian-born British entrepreneur and businessman, best known for founding the virtual events platform Hopin in 2019.[2][3] He came to prominence as one of the youngest self-made billionaires in the United Kingdom, reportedly achieving billionaire status at the age of 26.[4]

Early life and education

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Boufarhat was born in Sydney, Australia, to a Lebanese father who worked as a mechanical engineer and a Syrian-born Armenian mother who was an accountant.[5] His family relocated to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where he attended the Dubai American Academy.[6]

He later moved to the United Kingdom for his university studies, enrolling at the University of Manchester where he studied mechanical engineering and graduated in 2016.[5][7] At university, he was described by peers as quiet and focused on his work.[8]

Career

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Health challenges and founding vision

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After graduation, Boufarhat suffered from a serious allergic reaction that led to an autoimmune disorder, leaving him largely housebound for several months.[9] During this period, he developed the idea for Hopin—an online events platform enabling people to meet, collaborate, and network virtually.[10]

Launch and early growth of Hopin

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In January 2019, Boufarhat officially launched Hopin. The company began as a small remote-first team and later set up its headquarters in London.[11][12]

Although the platform saw steady growth at first, it experienced a surge in demand during the COVID-19 pandemic, as companies, schools, and conferences shifted to virtual operations.[13][14]

Investment and valuation milestones

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Hopin attracted major investment and grew rapidly. Key funding rounds included:

  • $40 million Series A (June 2020)[15]
  • $125 million Series B (November 2020), valuing the company at $2.1 billion[16]
  • $400 million Series C (March 2021), increasing valuation to $5.65 billion[17]
  • $450 million round (August 2021), bringing total valuation to $7.75 billion[18]

Strategic acquisitions

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In 2021, Hopin acquired several companies to broaden its product offering:

  • StreamYard – a live video studio platform ($250 million)[19]
  • Jamm – video collaboration software[20]
  • Boomset – event management platform[21]
  • Attendify – audience engagement and analytics[22]

Remote-first culture and leadership

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Boufarhat built Hopin from the ground up as a fully remote company. He emphasised speed, decentralised collaboration, and strong culture despite its distributed workforce.[23]

By 2022, Hopin had more than 800 employees in over 45 countries.[24] As demand for in-person events returned post-pandemic, the company underwent strategic restructuring.[25]

Stepping down as CEO

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On 2 August 2023, Boufarhat stepped down as CEO of Hopin to pursue new business ventures. He was succeeded by Josh Stein, the company’s Chief Financial Officer.[26][27]

Personal life

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Boufarhat keeps a low public profile. He has spoken about following a carnivore diet, which he credits with helping manage his autoimmune condition.[5] As of 2023, he splits his time between London and Barcelona.[28]

He has been recognised in the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list in the technology category and appeared in the Sunday Times Rich List.[29][30]

References

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  1. ^ "Johnny Boufarhat". Forbes. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  2. ^ Times, The Sunday (19 May 2023). "Johnny Boufarhat net worth — Sunday Times Rich List 2021" – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
  3. ^ Munbodh, Emma; Scheerhout, John (25 May 2021). "The Manchester Uni grad who has become Britain's youngest self-made billionaire". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  4. ^ "Pandemic creates new billionaire every 30 hours - Oxfam". BBC News. 23 May 2022. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  5. ^ a b c Shah, Oliver (10 April 2021). "Interview: Johnny Boufarhat — the steak-fuelled genius behind Hopin who is a billionaire at 26". Retrieved 15 April 2023 – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
  6. ^ Pupic, Tamara (28 December 2020). "Meet Johnny Boufarhat, The Founder And CEO Of Virtual Events Platform Hopin". Entrepreneur Middle East. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  7. ^ Ghosh, Shona (10 November 2020). "Meet Johnny Boufarhat, the 27-year-old founder of Hopin whose virtual events business has grown 4,000% in 2020". Business Insider. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  8. ^ Sweney, Mark (5 March 2021). "Hopin valuation soars to $5.65bn as Covid fuels virtual events boom". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  9. ^ Butcher, Mike (9 November 2020). "Virtual events platform Hopin raises $125M Series B led by IVP and Tiger Global at $2.125B valuation". TechCrunch. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  10. ^ Browne, Ryan (25 June 2020). "Virtual events start-up Hopin raises $40 million from IVP, Salesforce amid pandemic". CNBC. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  11. ^ "Johnny Boufarhat". Forbes. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  12. ^ Bradshaw, Tim (10 March 2021). "Pandemic creates a British tech billionaire". Financial Times. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  13. ^ "Hopin rides high on pandemic-led videoconferencing wave". Financial Times. 8 November 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  14. ^ Short, Eva (25 June 2020). "Virtual events platform Hopin raises $40m in Series A funding". Silicon Republic. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  15. ^ Sawers, Paul (25 June 2020). "Hopin raises $40 million to scale its virtual events platform". VentureBeat. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  16. ^ Garg, Monika (10 November 2020). "Hopin raises record $125M Series B". UKTN. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  17. ^ Mascarenhas, Natasha (5 March 2021). "Hopin confirms $400M raise at $5.65B valuation". TechCrunch. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  18. ^ Browne, Ryan (5 August 2021). "Hopin boomed in the pandemic. Now it's a $7.75 billion business". CNBC. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  19. ^ Lunden, Ingrid (7 January 2021). "Hopin buys StreamYard". TechCrunch. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  20. ^ "Hopin acquires Jamm". Silicon Canals. 23 March 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  21. ^ "Hopin acquires Boomset". PR Newswire. 15 June 2021. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  22. ^ "Hopin acquires Attendify". Business Wire. 20 July 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  23. ^ Morse, Brit (12 October 2021). "How Johnny Boufarhat Built a $7.8 Billion Company Within 2 Years". Inc.com. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  24. ^ Konrad, Alex (10 February 2022). "Hopin Cuts 12% of Staff". Forbes. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  25. ^ Mascarenhas, Natasha (10 February 2022). "Hopin cuts 12% of staff". TechCrunch. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  26. ^ Lewin, Amy (2 August 2023). "Johnny Boufarhat steps down as CEO of Hopin". Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  27. ^ Burroughs, Callum (2 August 2023). "Hopin CEO Johnny Boufarhat steps down". Business Insider. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  28. ^ Hewitson, Rosie (15 March 2021). "Meet the 26-year-old Londoner who made a fortune in lockdown". Time Out London. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  29. ^ "Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe: Technology". Forbes. 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  30. ^ "The Sunday Times Rich List 2023". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
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