• Entrepreneur Who Has Been In The Trenches and “Understands”
  • Speaker That Empowers Entrepreneur and Their Supporters
  • Author & Founder of The Lonely Entrepreneur Program
  • Entrepreneur/Startup Coach
  • Pioneer of the Heath Rewards Movement
  • Lawyer

Michael is anย entrepreneur, speaker, lawyer and founder/author of The Lonely Entrepreneur. Michael is considered the founder of not only a company, but an industry โ€“ rewarding individuals for healthy behavior.ย Michael left a promising law career to start IncentOne, the first company to provide financial rewards for healthy behavior. ย At the time, rewards in healthcare were not only non-existent โ€“ they were offensive. ย He was told over and over โ€œwe will never reward people for doing the things they should be doing to be healthy.โ€

After bootstrapping for a decade, his company received a large private equity investment on October 15, 2008. They had arrived. It should have been a time for celebration. Then the financial crisis hit. Ten years were gone in ten days. Bankrupt customers. Investment gone. Credit dead. Family dollars at risk. Angry investors. Family relationships on the brink. It would take two years of working 24 hours a day to save what took ten years to build. ย The perfect storm.

It was doomed. Or was it? Today, health rewards are everywhere, he sold IncentOne to industry innovator Welltok and his company is credited with creating the health rewards industry. What resulted was not only a business success, but the discovery of a unique method on how to thrive under the pressure, chaos and burden of being the entrepreneur.ย The Lonely Entrepreneur was born.

Michael on …

Building my company was one of the most rewarding, challenging and humbling experiences of my life. I am proud to be part of that dysfunctional class of individuals called โ€œentrepreneursโ€ that shows the grit and strength of character to pursue their vision and take on all challenges along the way. No one knows what it is like unless you have been there. There is no personal life and business life. It is your life. It is your soul. It is your oxygen. It is your spirit. Guilty as charged and proud of it.
The experience changed me in more ways than I will ever know. I am a different and better person today than I was before IncentOne. One of its greatest gifts is how it has made me humble and appreciate the honor of learning. The hard charging, Type A, driven athlete and M&A guy would have been described as a lot of things in 1998 โ€“ I doubt that โ€œhumbleโ€ and โ€œlearnerโ€ were on the list. For that I am grateful.
In addition to many rewarding moments, there were great challenges over the fifteen years of My company, not the least of which was what it almost did to my family, and to my relationship with my only brother, Dan.
Despite the challenges, we sold IncentOne in 2013, are considered the company that invented rewards to drive healthy behavior, and I am fortunate to be considered one of the nationโ€™s experts on the topic. More importantly, since the sale, Dan and I are back on track.

While I knew my experiences at my company could help other entrepreneurs, I didnโ€™t want to relive it. I had put a bow on that part of my life. My focus became my mission โ€“ I believe that rewards for healthy behavior can help people and fix the American healthcare system and my mission became a national health reward program in which every American can โ€œbe healthy and be rewarded.โ€ It was time for that chapter of my adventure.
Then something happened. I started spending time with entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs that had the right stuff โ€“ great ideas, passion, smarts and an intense desire not only to succeed but to realize a vision. I saw something else. They were all making the same mistakes. Many of the same mistakes that I made. Despite great ideas, they were struggling not only to make a business work, but to deal with the pressure, chaos and the emotional toll of being an entrepreneur. I could not stand to watch passionate, dedicated, driven individuals with a visceral desire to bring their visions to life feel like they were drowning in quicksand.
Could my experiences help entrepreneurs have a better chance of success? Iโ€™ll let you decide if I am qualified but I hope I can. That is why I decided to launch The Lonely Entrepreneur.

Entrepreneurs hold a special place in my heart. Not only because of the deep respect I have for the character it takes to take a chance and build a company, but because they represent the true spirit of what makes America great. Whether you are opening a flower store, designing a womenโ€™s handbag, writing a book, starting a marketing firm or creating the next breakthrough technology, welcome to the club, you are all entrepreneurs. We are fortunate to live in a country in which anyone can take an idea and if they are willing to work hard, they can succeed and build a better and more fulfilling life. I am so proud to have taken an idea and turned it into reality. It may sound corny, but it was an honor to be a part this great part of America, and to build a company, employ people, help customers, and maybe change the healthcare system and the financial health of the American economy along the way.
The American spirit is embodied in us โ€“ the entrepreneurs. Now, the role of the entrepreneur is so important that it is no longer an American idea. The entrepreneur is the lifeblood of the next generation of worldwide innovation, growth and prosperity. We have an obligation to the entrepreneur.

Michaelโ€™s vision is unleash the entrepreneurial spirit by helping with the one issue they all face โ€“ the struggle.
You are not alone. Millions feel what you feel. Despite great ideas, talent and passion, we struggle not only to build businesses, but to deal with the pressure and chaos of being an entrepreneur. Can we overcome this feeling and drive toward success?
Wouldnโ€™t it be great if we could inspire a generation of entrepreneurs manage and overcome the pressure, chaos, passion and emotion and put in place the tools for success?
It would be an honor if The Lonely Entrepreneur helps one entrepreneur. It would be a dream come true if The Lonely Entrepreneur helps all of you.
Michael Dermer