CNN) - A squatter on the Palo Alto, California campus of Internet giant AOL made the most of his time while sofa surfing. It helped him launch his own start-up. He lived, ate, worked, slept - and managed to breathe life in to a new company:
Eric Simons literally lives and breathes his job. "They're just like, 'Aw, that kid works really hard.' Because I was," says Eric Simons.
That's because he spent long, very long hours at his computer every night. He was squatting at AOL's headquarters when he ran out of rent money.
"One day I was walking out and there was this couch. I was like, 'Hmm, that's interesting. I could totally sleep on that couch.'"
Simons was hired by Silicon Valley investors to work at a new incubator, a group that focuses on new ideas. They work out of rented space in AOL's Palo Alto headquarters. But when the program ended, Simons wanted to keep going, to perfect his idea that would help teachers revolutionize education. It wasn't hard to just move right on in to AOL.
And then in the morning, I would come there before I would work during the day. I would come there; I would work out and then I'd take a shower. So, I was already almost -- the only thing I wasn't doing was just sleeping there," says Simons.
He started stuffing two lockers outside the company gym and he helped himself to AOL's food.
"They would put out the food. That included a cup of noodles, like the Ramen stuff, trail mix, like Doritos, just snacks like that," says Simons.
No one caught on, but there were whispers. One night the building manager found him and it was over. But Simons says he did what he had to do to build his company now called Classconnect.
"I couldn't imagine going home and basically closing shop and saying 'Okay, I'm done.'"
He didn't go home and now venture capitalists are investing. Simons is living in a rented house and there's been no backlash from AOL and he says if he had to, he'd do it all again.
"You know, I'm 20. I had nothing to lose. I had no money and no place to stay. I was like, okay."
According to C-NET, Simons has received another 50-thousand dollars in venture capital funding for his website, which allows teachers to share lesson plans.
He is still allowed on the A-O-L campus in Palo Alto, but for work only.
