book michael for Speaking engagements
The sought-after voice that founders — and those who serve them — trust.
Michael has lived it. Under extreme circumstances. That survival became a movement — “We are all lonely entrepreneurs.” He has turned survival into a movement that instantly resonates with entrepreneurs and organizations looking to build trust with them. And now he helps founders and the organizations around them answer the question on everyone’s mind — Will I survive in an AI world? — with the release of the Entrepreneur Survival Guide.
The result is a voice that’s emotional, tactical, and unforgettable — built for leaders navigating the AI era.
Speaking Reel
Why this lands
Audiences don’t need hype. They need truth from someone who lived it — and a strategy that works in an AI world.
- Truth + tactics — emotional permission and practical steps.
- AI era urgency — not hype, a new battlefield.
- Real survival — built through 2008, not theory.
- A movement line — “We are all lonely entrepreneurs.”
- A true system — integrate the Entrepreneur Survival Guide into any engagement.
Who This Is For
Audiences that get the most value — because they’re all facing the same problem: trust, pressure, and the AI-era shift.
Organizations That Sell to SMBs
The war for the small business customer is intense. New AI solutions threaten incumbents, and most entrepreneurs don’t trust anyone selling to them. Understanding what makes them tick and building trust with them is essential.
Brands That Target Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurs don’t respond to brand messages — they respond to understanding. This talk helps brands connect with SMBs by speaking to the realities they live: pressure, isolation, and survival in an AI world.
Investors Serving SMBs
Private equity, venture, and family offices supporting founder-led businesses face the same challenge: execution under pressure.
This talk provides a lens for understanding founders —helping them support stronger execution across their portfolios in the AI era.
Professional Services That Advise SMBs
Advisors win trust when founders feel understood. This talk helps professional services firms translate expertise into language founders hear and positions advisors as true partners.
Mental Health and Wellness Platforms
Entrepreneur mental health isn’t about balance — it’s about survival under pressure. This talk gives mental health, wellness, and loneliness-focused organizations language that resonates with founders who don’t see themselves as “burned out,” but as responsible for everything.
Founder Ecosystems & Communities
Founders don’t need more advice — they need language for what they’re living. This keynote gives founder communities a way to meet founders where they are: under pressure, overloaded, and trying to survive an AI-driven world.
Signature Talks
Each talk can be delivered as a keynote, fireside chat, or interactive workshop. Content is customized to your audience. The newly released Entrepreneur Survival Guide or the critically acclaimed original The Lonely Entrepreneur book can be integrated into each talk.
How to Build Trust with Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurs trust Michael because he is one of them. Michael’s journey through the perfect storm of 2008 gave him an intimate understanding of the pressure, responsibility, and risk entrepreneurs carry. In this talk, he explains what companies selling to SMBs must understand to earn trust and credibility in a world competing relentlessly for their attention.
The Journey Through the Perfect Storm
In 2008, Michael watched ten years of work collapse in ten days. Capital and customers vanished and failure was real. What followed was 3 years of twenty-hour days, daily cold showers to condition mental endurance, and extreme decisions under sustained pressure. This talk traces the brutal path from near-collapse to eventual exit, and what it truly takes to endure, rebuild, and pioneer forward when there is no margin for error.
What It Takes to Survive in an AI World
Most founders won’t survive AI. Will you? According to McKinsey, 57% of what founders do can be replaced by AI. The battlefield has changed. Michael introduces The Entrepreneur Survival Guide—a system built to survive in an AI world: 6 weapons, 30 tactics, one system for entrepreneurs facing compression, speed, and consequence.
Organizations Need to Think Like Entrepreneurs
In an AI era, large organizations must think like entrepreneurs—or risk becoming the next Blockbuster. Michael shows how entrepreneurial leaders must bring entrepreneurial charatcerteristics around innovation, risk-taking and ownership to compete in a world where waiting is the dangerous choice.
There’s Always a Way
When there is no solution, leaders don’t wait—they invent one. Drawing from moments when every path was blocked and no advice applied, Michael shows how creativity and perspective replace answers under pressure. Through real examples, this talk reveals how leaders create forward motion when there is no playbook, no consensus, and no guarantee of survival.
Work-Life Balance Is Bullsh*t
Obsession used to be a differentiator—now it’s essential. After years of twenty-hour days building through collapse and recovery, Michael challenges the myth of balance and reframes endurance. This talk shows how leaders sustain intensity, responsibility, and obsession without breaking in a world that no longer forgives hesitation.
“People say Taylor Swift connects because young women feel like she’s talking to them in their bedrooms. Michael is the same for entrepreneurs. What he says is what we all feel every day.”
Speaking Inquiry
Tell us a bit about your event and we’ll respond quickly with availability and options.
If the form doesn’t load, email
operations@lonelyentrepreneur.com
.
The Journey Through the Perfect Storm that Led to A Movement
The Lonely Entrepreneur Journey with Michael Dermer
How to Lead Through Crisis with Michael Dermer
Speaking
The sought-after voice that entrepreneurs trust — and companies rely on to reach them.
Michael helps organizations understand entrepreneurs deeply — so they can earn trust, cut through noise, and stay relevant in an AI-driven world.
Speaking Reel
Why this lands
- Truth + tactics — not theory.
- Trust-first — built for skeptical entrepreneurs.
- AI-era relevance — the battlefield shifted.
- A movement line — “We are all lonely entrepreneurs.”
Best for: companies selling to SMBs, brands serving entrepreneurs, investors (incl. family offices), founder ecosystems, and mental health/wellness orgs.
Keynotes
How to Build Trust with Entrepreneurs
What companies must understand to earn credibility in a world competing for SMB attention.
How to Think Like an Entrepreneur in the AI Era
Why companies must adopt entrepreneurial speed, judgment, and behavior as AI accelerates uncertainty.
What Does It Take to Survive in an AI World?
How AI is changing the entrepreneur’s reality—and what organizations must understand to stay relevant.
Work-Life Balance Is BS
A framework for entrepreneur mental endurance: obsession is real—here’s how it doesn’t break you.
Speaking Inquiry
Tell us about your event and we’ll respond quickly with availability and options.
If the form doesn’t load, email
operations@lonelyentrepreneur.com.