For over a decade, I battled alcoholism and addiction. I couldn’t stop—even when I wanted to. I drank against my own will. It cost me relationships, clarity, peace… and nearly my freedom.
In 2013, after a DUI and an arrest, I was given an ultimatum: jail or rehab. At the time, it felt like the worst moment of my life. Looking back, it was the turning point that saved it.
After 30 days in rehab and a newfound outlook on life. I made the best and hardest decision of my life to stay sober.
By 2014, with one year sober, I launched my first real company. From the outside, I looked like I had it all together, but inside, I was juggling a storm. Running a business, managing employees, delivering for clients—and all the while, trying to surrender to God’s will while still holding tight to control. There were so many days drinking felt like the only answer.
And the environment didn’t help.
Networking events? Happy hours.
Conferences? Open bars.
Entrepreneur culture? Work hard, play harder.
But for people like us alcoholics and addicts that “play” nearly destroyed us.
I’ve always loved the concept of helping others, which is the basis of 12-step recovery. We help others, and in turn, our lives get better. I applied those principles in helping other entrepreneurs and had seen the impact that it was having in their lives, their family’s lives, and their employee’s lives.
Fast forward to 2023: I exited my company successfully. I had resources, time, and space to reflect. I asked myself, “What would I do every day if money didn’t matter?” and the answer was clear:
I’d dedicate my life to helping other entrepreneurs in recovery grow their businesses and stay sober.
I already had sponsees who were founders. My sponsor ran a business. We’d have powerful, honest conversations about sobriety and entrepreneurship but always behind closed doors. It never felt appropriate to bring these discussions into a 12 step meeting… and they didn’t belong at a business mastermind either.
There had to be a better way.
A place where recovery and business could coexist.
Where we could talk about cash flow and cravings.
Marketing funnels and mental health.
Growth and grace.
So I built the thing I couldn’t find. The thing that I wish existed in the previous decade of building my own company and the very lonely lows and bittersweet highs that came along with being in recovery at the same time.
The first meeting started as a group text of fellow entrepreneur friends and a random post on Facebook for anyone with over $250k in revenue and one year of sobriety to join. I didn’t expect much, maybe a few of my friends to pop in and say hi and it would eventually fizzle out. But it didn’t…
Strangers joined the group, and then immediately after were begging for more (typical addict tendency haha).
I realized I had something that wasn’t just a little one-off thing, but the potential for something huge.
At the time of forming the group, I had made a list of things “If X happens, keep going, if Y happens, quit.” One of the long shot items in the keep going list was if a random stranger reached out and said this is a great idea, that would be enough outside validation to keep going.
After the second meeting, I had a random DM from an old account manager from a software we hadn’t used in years reach out to me saying that it was an incredible concept and that they grew up in a house of addiction and entrepreneurship. She said what we were doing was incredible and something she wished her father had when she was growing up… That hit hard.
The same day, I received another dm from a newsletter asking for an interview to learn more about Sober Founders and what we were doing. The idea got a fast proof of concept and has been growing ever since.
What started as a side project became a full-blown nonprofit a 501(c)(3)—thanks to the support of early members, generous donors, and the undeniable impact we were having on each other’s lives.
Sober Founders is more than a group.
It’s a movement.
And we’re just getting started.