Viral entrepreneur Simon Squibb has today made the bold move of ‘leaking’ his phone number online to people on his exclusive mailing list.
The TikTok sensation, who has gone from homelessness at the age of 15 to founding 19 of his own companies, took to LinkedIn this morning to announce this.
“April Fools is over – so this ISN’T a joke. I’m “leaking” my personal phone number,” he wrote.
“But not to everyone. Only to people on my exclusive mailing list. Not because I’m lonely…
“I don’t want people calling just to chat about their day (although I’m sure that’d be nice haha).
“This is for people who are genuinely stuck… Who need real advice. Real help.”
Squibb posted this to his 148,000 followers on the platform, but it is the previously mentioned TikTok where he has garnered the most interest.
The HelpBnk founder and CEO has amassed an impressive 6.5m followers and received a whopping 164.5m likes on his page.
His most viral videos see him approaching younger people and helping them with their business plans.
This isn’t dissimilar to his work for HelpBnk, a platform which ‘helps people to help people’ and with a mission of building a 10m strong community of like minded people who believe every dream is possible.
Squibb continued: “Let me be clear: I won’t be handing out money.
“But I will do my best to help even if it’s just one phone call.
“PLEASE only call if it’s a last resort. This is a bit of an experiment so I want to see how it goes.
“If you’re struggling, chasing a dream, or don’t know what your next step should be… Keep an eye on your inbox.
“Because sometime this week, I’ll be sending out a message with my real number.
“Use it wisely. And only if you really need to.”
He has grown his profile so much that he launched the ‘Elevator of Dreams’ with Virgin boss Richard Branson in January.
The idea was that aspiring entrepreneurs could pitch their business ideas to an audience of potential investors in a Dragons’ Den-esque way.
Business owners would buzz a video doorbell and pitch their plans to the camera.
The unlikely duo would then give feedback on the pitch and, through the power of social media and their global audiences, in turn promote these young entrepreneurs to a huge number of people.
Squibb was also recently presented with the One Billion Award, valued at $1m, which recognises exceptional content creators who drive social change and contribute to shaping a better future through their platforms.