How did Michael Wystrach build Freshly to a $1.5 billion exit when he started with almost no money?

Michael Weistrach, who sold the meal-delivery company Freshly, described starting with almost nothing: he had $15 in his bank account when he started the business at 35, and he had already lost an earlier company to bankruptcy. He also had about a million dollars of debt to pay off within three years, which created urgency. He said he had some product-market fit and was a believer that when your back is against the wall, you make it happen.

Growth came mostly from paid social advertising. He said the company reached $550 million in sales in about five years, almost entirely through Meta ads, because he believed his team was the best at Meta marketing. He stressed being relentlessly data-focused and quick to test and drop what doesn't work.

He also gave up most of the company to fund it. He took on many investors, started with 100% ownership, and sold the business for $1.5 billion while owning about 10% of it. He credited working harder than others as a key factor, saying he was not the smartest or best-looking but was the hardest working.