He Lost Everything. Then He Built Something Better.

Tonight we are trying something new with Notes - not a story about a famous entrepreneur, but someone not well known, but maybe more relatable. I’d love to get you feedback on it - vote or share your comments below. Thanks!

Everyone thinks they know how a startup story is supposed to go:

Brilliant twenty-something. Big idea. Money and success follow.

Rand Fishkin’s story is the opposite. Which is exactly what makes it so worth telling.

Rand started Moz (originally SEOmoz) not in Silicon Valley, but in Seattle. Not in a dorm, but in his mom’s spare bedroom.\

The Humblest of Beginnings

It began as a humble mother-and-son consulting business, helping clients navigate the early world of SEO. For years, they barely got by. At one point, they were $500,000 in debt.

But Rand’s blog on SEO became more and more popular. Soon, it became a go-to resource and slowly, Moz turned from a services firm into a product company. They launched software. They grew.

And get this - they even raised $1.1 million in venture capital. Then more. Then more.

The dream, it seemed, was working.

Except it wasn’t.

The Unhappy CEO

Rand was never quite the classic tech CEO.

He was a self-taught marketer, not a trained executive. He cared more about building an ethical, transparent company than chasing unicorn status.

He resisted pressure to scale at all costs. But the money came with expectations. Growth targets. New hires. A board.

Eventually, Moz had over 150 employees and tens of millions in revenue—but Rand was miserable.

In his brutally honest memoir Lost and Founder, he describes those years with painful clarity: the anxiety, the imposter syndrome, the weight of trying to lead a company he no longer recognized.

The Part No One Tells You

And then the kicker - the board decided to replace him as CEO.

This is the part of the startup story no one tells you. The part after the headlines. After the TechCrunch splash. After the founder is quietly pushed aside, and no one calls to ask how they’re doing.

Rand went dark.

He struggled with depression.

Questioned his identity.

Worried that he had wasted the most important decade of his life. He thought he might never start something again.

And then, slowly, he began to imagine a different path.

What if he built a business without VCs?
What if success meant freedom, not scale?
What if he got to enjoy the work again?

The Big Comeback

From those questions came SparkToro - a lean, intentional, profitable company that helps marketers find where their audience actually hangs out online.

There’s no 100-person team. No fundraising rounds. No external board. Just a useful product, a small team, and a business model built on sustainability.

Today, Rand is one of the most respected voices in the startup world, and not because he made the most money, but because he tells the truth. He failed. He survived. He came back stronger.

Not in spite of the pain. But because of it.

The Takeaway

Getting pushed out of your own company is about as bad as it gets for an entrepreneur. But when things go bad, you have a choice. Quit and disappear, or redefine what success means to you and come back different, better.

Rand chose the second path. And in doing so, found something far more valuable than a billion-dollar exit: Peace.

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Steal This Strategy

📖 Book – Lost and Founder by Rand Fishkin
One of the most honest books ever written about startup life—funny, painful, real.

🎥 Video – What no one tells you about entrepreneurship
Rand’s raw, eye-opening talk about how the startup game actually works.

🌐 Website – SparkToro
Rand’s second act: no investors, no pressure—just smart software and clear values.

About Steve

Steve Strauss is the best-selling author of The Small Business Bible (and 17 other books), Inc.’s small business columnist, a lawyer (non-practicing), and an entrepreneur. He sold his last venture, TheSelfEmployed.com to Mark Cuban & Zen Business. Need a ghostwriter or a newsletter for your business? Contact Steve!