The world's youngest self-made billionaire says the secret to closing deals is exploiting investors' greed and fear of missing out

"Thomas Healy founded Hyliion in 2015 when he was a grad student at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Mellon University. Ten years later, Hyliion has raised over $750 million, gone public via a SPAC merger, and achieved a valuation of $1.6 billion, making Healy the youngest self-made billionaire in America; he toppled the previous title-holder, Kylie Jenner, in 2020."

""Never get into a position where you're desperate," Healy said. "That's where things usually go wrong. You need to be willing to walk away when it doesn't make sense.""

""So that evening, I flew to Florida, met with a different investor, and the following day signed the entire deal with a totally new investor. You gotta always keep a plan B.""

""If they're looking at your company, you need to make them realize that they don't want this to be the company they missed out on," he said. "You gotta create fear that they might miss out on this deal. But you also have to create greed-that if they want to"

Thomas Healy founded Hyliion in 2015 while a graduate student at Carnegie Mellon University. Hyliion raised over $750 million, went public via a SPAC merger, and reached a $1.6 billion valuation, making Healy the youngest self-made billionaire in America in 2020. Healy's core negotiating principle is to maintain leverage and avoid entering negotiations from a position of desperation. Healy emphasizes the importance of being willing to walk away and always keeping a plan B, illustrated by an investor changing terms and Healy quickly closing with a different investor. Healy also recommends leveraging investor FOMO to create urgency and interest.

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