EP219: What To Do When Disaster Strikes: The Entrepreneur’s Real Test

The Real Measure Of An Entrepreneur is How they Lead When Things Go Wrong

In this episode of The Complete Entrepreneur, Colin C. Campbell and Michael Gilmour tackle a topic most founders avoid until it is staring them in the face: disaster.

From losing venture capital overnight to watching companies collapse during the dot-com crash, they share raw stories about business failures, external shocks, financial devastation, and the emotional toll of entrepreneurship.

More importantly, they explore what separates entrepreneurs who recover from those who don’t.

  • Why integrity matters most when everything is falling apart
  • How transparency can turn a crisis into an opportunity
  • The emotional reality of entrepreneurial disasters
  • What founders learn when they lose everything
  • Why entrepreneurship is ultimately a skill, not a single outcome
  • How to make decisions from facts instead of emotion during a crisis

What To Do When Disaster Strikes: The Entrepreneur’s Real Test

The Day Everything Breaks Is The Day Leadership Begins Most entrepreneurs don't fail when disaster strikes. They fail in the days that follow. Nobody teaches you...

5 Ways To Improve Customer Experience Without Adding Headcount

Customer satisfaction is the foundation of any successful business, but scaling customer experience (CX) often requires costs and personnel that new businesses cannot afford....

Startup Time to Sell Index Rebounds as AI IPO Optimism Returns

The Startup Club Time to Sell Index (TTSI) has rebounded to 26.8 after falling to 16.8 in April amid concerns surrounding global uncertainty, geopolitical...

Best Books for Entrepreneurs: 14 Founder-Recommended Reads

When Colin C. Campbell asked his LinkedIn network to share the most impactful books in their entrepreneurial journeys, the responses revealed something deeper than...

The Simple Communication Shift That Makes Better Leaders

Why the way founders communicate shapes culture, trust, and growth Most founders think strategy builds companies. In reality, communication does just as much. The words you...

Why Scaling a Startup Requires a Different Kind of Founder

Starting a company and scaling a company are not the same job. That was the central message on our recent episode, where Colin C. Campbell...