Jerry Brazie

At 17, I was living in a $25-a-week flophouse with hookers and heroin addicts. I’d already been shot at, stabbed in a robbery attempt, and beaten nearly to death twice. I’d stolen food to survive. No guidance, no backup, no roadmap. Just chaos. At 28, I started a business with nothing but a newborn baby, a pregnant wife, and a job I hated. No degree. No money. No clue what I was doing. All I had was an obsession with figuring it out, and a willingness to work longer and harder than anyone I knew. I worked 18-hour days for years. I took 100% equity loans on my house three times just to keep the lights on. I didn’t take a paycheck for years. I refereed basketball games at night to make ends meet. I bet everything I had and then some. Somewhere in that chaos, I found a group. A real one. Not a mastermind full of hype or a seminar pitchfest. A group of operators who were further ahead than me. People who called me on my blind spots, gave me real advice, and held me accountable. That group changed my life. It made me sharper, faster, and more resilient than I ever could have been alone. Over the last 26 years, I’ve built and run more than a dozen companies. I’ve generated over $450 million in revenue. I’ve employed over 10,000 people. I’ve done deals in transportation, real estate, reclaimed wood, driver services, and more. I’ve survived lawsuits, betrayals, theft, market crashes, and bankruptcy. And I’m still standing. Still building. Still learning.