He Had $15 Left… 10 Years Later He Sold For $1.5 Billion | Mike Wystrach

Learn from the millionaires and billionaires we interview on calls every week. Sign up for our community here: https://www.skool.com/schoolofmentors/about


At 35 years old, Mike Wystrach had $15 in his bank account, no home, a failed business, and a $1 million judgment hanging over him.

Ten years later, he had built Freshly into one of the fastest-growing food companies in America and sold it to Nestlé in a deal valued at $1.5 billion.

But the part that matters happened before the exit.

Mike had spent years failing, losing confidence, getting rejected by investors, and questioning whether anything would finally work.

Then he rebuilt the way he thought, became obsessive about execution, and created a company that eventually delivered more than 1 million meals every week with 2,500 employees.

In this episode, Mike breaks down the mindset shift that pulled him out of his lowest point, the Facebook strategy that fueled Freshly’s growth, why founders need the right people around them, and what he learned after selling for more money than he once imagined possible.


00:00 Intro
00:59 Bankruptcy, Failure, and Taking Control of Your Life
06:28 Restaurant Lessons, Finding Your Strengths, and the Freshly Idea
15:18 How Facebook Marketing Drove Freshly’s Growth
19:53 Choosing a Co-Founder and Raising Venture Capital
23:22 Scaling Freshly’s Operations, Competition, and Food Regulation
28:32 COVID-19, Explosive Demand, and the Decision to Sell Freshly
31:50 Wealth, Spending, Real Estate, Private Flying, and Family
37:35 Reinvesting After the Exit, Entrepreneurship, and Education
42:36 Building Petfolk and Applying Lessons from Freshly
49:20 The Best Cities and Networks for Young Entrepreneurs
52:51 Hard Work, Legacy, Family, and Faith


Find Mike Wystrach here:
Website: https://mikewystrach.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikewystrach/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelwystrach/

Check out Mike’s businesses:
Petfolk: https://petfolk.com/
Cutting Horse: https://www.cuttinghorse.com/

Listen to The Advantage:
https://mikewystrach.com/podcast/
https://mikewystrach.com/newsletter/

Enjoyed this video? Please leave a like and subscribe! - @TheSchoolofHardKnocksPodcast

Follow our main YouTube channel here: @theschoolofhardknocks

Subscribe to our newsletter: https://schoolofhardknocks.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Check Out Our Merchandise Here: http://shophardknocks.com

Our Equipment and Books We Recommend: https://www.amazon.com/shop/theschoolofhardknocks