Ryan Blair

Self-Made Multimillionaire and Serial Entrepreneur

Ryan Blair is a serial entrepreneur, establishing his first company, 24-7 Tech when he was only twenty-one years old. Since then, he has created and actively invested in multiple start-ups and has become a self-made multimillionaire, known for going from “long shot” to “big shot” even when the odds are against him.

History

Ryan came from a home riddled with drug abuse and physical violence. Ryan was the leader of a gang and by the age of 17 had already served two stints in juvenile hall. As Ryan approached the age of 18, he had an epiphany after realizing that if he continued to live this life he was going to end up in jail, or more likely dead. He realized his only way out was to change his ways and get job. The employee life didn’t bode well with Ryan, so he rechanneled his destructive energy, into an avid interest in computers, from which he founded his first company at 21, and made his first million at age 22.

Professional Career

After he sold his company ViSalus Sciences to NYSE:Blyth in early 2008, the global recession took the company to the brink of failure resulting in a complete write off of the stock and near bankruptcy. Ryan as CEO went “all in” betting his last million dollars on its potential and turned the company around from the edge of failure to more than $150,000,000 a year in revenue in only 16 months winning the coveted DSN Global Turn Around Award in 2010.

He sold his next company, SkyPipeline for $25 million to Covad Communications. Over the course of ten years, he has successfully launched and sold six multi- million dollar companies. Today, in his early thirties, he is still running companies valued in the millions of dollars. But Ryan’s true passion is helping others find their way to the American dream. His own story is an example of how anyone, with a “nothing to lose” mindset, can do things they might otherwise have never done.

Best-Selling Author

His book, Nothing to Lose, is a guide for people who want to find their passion, fire their boss, and take paper to pavement. This book reveals the true-life story of how his disadvantaged beginnings might have ruined his life, but instead, with an unexpected mentor and patient support, Ryan turned his life around. The book has lead to a documentary titled Nothing To Lose – The Documentary.

Media

Ryan is often seen in the media on such shows as MSNBC’s Your Business, FOX News and FOX Business. He’s appeared on CNBC‘s The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch and he’s been profiled in TIME, Business Week, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes and many other publications.

Nothing To Lose

While the circumstances of Ryan’s upbringing were extreme indeed, he found a way to change his mindset in order to build several multi-million dollar companies, all at a very young age. While the story of how he turned his life around is a compelling and inspirational one indeed, Ryan is so much more than that. He offers solid advice to those looking to build their own businesses so they can find their passion and live out their own Horatio Alger stories. Not just for individual entrepreneurs, Ryan’s message resonates across today’s business climate where the entrepreneurial spirit is needed now more than ever (no matter how large your organization). Employee engagement, having an owner’s mindset—these are all intertwined in his fascinating and dynamic presentations. A perfect blend of business acumen and inspiration—that’s Ryan.