How the “Fail Coach” was born
One business coach has forged his approach to helping entrepreneurs and business executives by using a monumental personal failure and eventual redemption to help get others where they need to go to find their personal success and fulfillment.
At just 18 years old, Miha Matlievski, a Slovenian high school dropout, dreamed of becoming a successful entrepreneur. And he pursued it with a passion, putting in 12 years of hard work that resulted in four successful businesses and a personal net worth of $15M.
But in December 2009, an unexpected call from his bank, which had decided to foreclose on his real estate investments, brought his world crashing down around him. That one negative event instigated an avalanche of ruin for him and his businesses, resulting in his four, once-successful companies going bankrupt.
The then 30-year-old Miha couldn’t believe that he was now responsible for a collective debt of $5M.
“I was afraid to meet people, because I knew there were many whom I owed a lot of money,” he says of that time. “Some of them even sent me death threats.”
Such worries created a permanent state of anxiety that held Miha captive, he remembers. Though he says he did what he could to stay positive, nothing seemed to help.
After a year of being stuck in such a state, Miha had reached his wit’s end, and suicidal thoughts began to creep into his mind. “I romanticized the thought of suicide so much,” he recalls, “that I was literally ready to throw myself over the balcony.” Still, he felt he couldn’t leave his mother saddled with such debt.
Years passed. Overcome with desperation, Miha yelled at himself: “You fucking failed!”
Initially, it was the word “you,” he explains, that showed him that the situation was his fault.
“Suddenly, I felt enlightened, and finally stopped blaming others for my shortcomings. I could even imagine the prospect of starting anew.”
One client’s mashup of quotes
by “The Fail Coach” Miha Matlievski
Embracing that previous failure, Miha began to climb out of his rut and take charge of his own life once again. In 2014, he created a new startup, generating eight figures in less than a year. Many publications in Slovenia approached him and his story went viral.
Since Miha’s “resurrection,” he has been known as The Fail Coach. In that capacity, he helps entrepreneurs around the world embrace and have a healthy relationship with failure with the goal of reaching a higher level of success.
That approach has resulted in big wins, both for Miha and his clients. Recently, for example, he helped a female entrepreneur in raising $1.8M by completely rewriting her business plan to appeal to investors, guiding her on their pitch deck, and, after coaching her on how to deliver her pitch, getting her in front of his network of investors.
“The founder was working on this project for about a year, and had never done a business plan,” he explains. “They were trying to hook an investor with just a few Excel sheets, not knowing how to reach them or talk to them.”
Through similar activities, Miha has also assisted in raising $22M in seed funding with his clients.
Embracing that previous failure, Miha began to climb out of his rut and take charge of his own life once again. In 2014, he created a new startup, generating eight figures in less than a year. Many publications in Slovenia approached him and his story went viral.
Since Miha’s “resurrection,” he has been known as The Fail Coach. In that capacity, he helps entrepreneurs around the world embrace and have a healthy relationship with failure with the goal of reaching a higher level of success.
Fail Coach Miha Matlievski has been featured in numerous publications, both online and in print, and is full of stories about his own personal background, his approach to working with clients and what they have achieved with his help.
Offering a more holistic approach to business coaching than what is typically available to entrepreneurs and business executives across the globe, the story of The Fail Coach will no doubt appeal to many. Miha is looking forward to hearing from you!
