In this bite-sized episode, Paul sits down with entrepreneur Brian Keegan to unpack the wild swing from “Park Lane Paddy” highs to receivership lows—and the gritty rebuild that followed. Brian shares how a perfect storm (9/11, the dot-com crash, Enron/WorldCom) halved his business in months, pushed him to the High Court, and nearly into personal bankruptcy. He explains the turnaround: swapping ego for humility, refusing to “sign it all away,” assembling a circle of counsel, and rebuilding with proprietary software, global ops, and a shift from vanity growth to durable value—ultimately leading to a successful exit in 2018.   Highlights Tailwinds to turbulence: Late-90s hyper-growth meets the 2001–03 crash; revenue collapses and receivership follows. Humility unlocks help: A spouse’s truth bomb and a barrister-mentor change the path at the eleventh hour. Rebuild blueprint: .NET platform + India back office = faster cycle times and software-like margins. Upgrade your metrics: “Revenue is vanity, profit is sanity, cash flow is king—and valuation is emperor.” Counsel > solo heroics: Monthly cadence with legal/financial strategist, business mentor, coach, and spiritual director. Mindset shift: Stop tripping over the past; invest beyond “your own dollars” to fund the future. Second act clarity: Focus on profitability, cash conversion, and enterprise value laid the groundwork for exit. Quotable “Every entrepreneur has a dark moment where they think, this might be it.” “Stop spending your own dollars—invest for the future in front of you.” “Don’t trip over what’s behind you.” Links to full episode: https://youtu.be/KJKR3KditoE?si=zFLEZfRP10NJaPG1 https://open.spotify.com/episode/3K1R285C3B4jyFABN4CFlt?si=el0i3OlFQAm3aqfsuYdwxw About the host: Paul Ryan is an entrepreneur, 8 figure business owner, mentor, podcaster and creator of the 1-Hour CEO and Life Code Program. As a CEO, Paul has a depth of 'real life' experience of what it takes to be successful in business and life.   Connect with the host:   https://www.theonehourceo.com/   https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-ryan-9a98774/