Chicagoan Lives Undetected Inside AOL Campus For Two Months--Working On A Dream

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Eric Simons had no money, no place to live, but he had a dream.

So, Simons, found a way to live inside AOL's headquarters in Palo Alto for two months last fall while working on a start-up company to connect teachers and help them share, create and find different lesson plans for students.

According to a report from CBS-owned CNET, Simons, 20, of Chicago, first was enrolled at an incubator company called ImagineK12. It gave him some seed money to help launch a company called ClassConnect. However, that money quickly ran out and he was out of options.

ImagineK12 is located within AOL's campus and his ID badge still worked. So, he continued to work long hours, showering at the company gym and eating free food at the cafeteria. He would sleep in the wee hours on a series of couches, away from the security patrols.

He was finally discovered by the building manager after two months of living and working inside the building.

He said he spent only $30 in one month--splurging on a Boston Market Thanksgiving dinner and few meals at McDonald's when he "got sick of eating Ramen and cereal," he told CNET reporter Daniel Terdiman.

He put a spare amount of clothes, along with a computer, in a gym locker. The facility has its own laundry.

In the end, the hard work paid off: He was able to secure more money--allowing him to rent an apartment and hire some help--that he hopes will help him ultimately launch Class Connect.

Contacted for comment, David Temkin, senior vice president of Mail and Mobile for AOL, told CNET, "It was always our intention to facilitate entrepreneurialism in the Palo Alto office -- we just didn't expect it to work so well."