How to Rebuild Your Business After Losing Everything

Rebuilding a business isn’t magic. It’s asking for help, trusting yourself, and protecting your mental health.

BY ELIZABETH GORE, CO-FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT @ELIZABETHGOREUS

Illustration: Getty Images

Entrepreneurship rarely follows a straight line. For many founders, the path includes moments where everything falls apart before it comes together again. 

Research suggests that the emotional toll of entrepreneurship is significant. One study found that 72% of founders report that entrepreneurship has affected their mental health, underscoring how demanding the journey of building a company can be. 

I recently sat down with Ashley Fox, Empify founder and CEO, on The Big Idea podcast from Yahoo Finance. We talked about what it actually looks like to rebuild after losing everything. 

Fox knows that experience firsthand. After leaving a high paying Wall Street career with a vision to make financial education accessible to everyday people, she became an independent financial adviser and began hosting financial literacy events while trying to build what would eventually become Empify.  

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The early days were difficult. She quickly ran through her savings and ended up evicted from her apartment while trying to get the business off the ground. 

However, her story isn’t about the setback. It’s about what happens next. Over time, she transformed that early vision into a financial education platform that has helped millions of people around the world learn how to invest and build wealth. When I look at Fox’s journey, I think about money and mission. To rebuild after losing everything, start with the following steps: 

Ask for help sooner than you think you need it. 

One of the biggest misconceptions about entrepreneurship is the idea that founders must figure everything out on their own. Fox explained that rebuilding required acknowledging the opposite. The faster you recognize where you need support, the faster you can start moving forward. 

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