Podcast Summary: The Level Up Podcast w/ Paul Alex

Episode: $147 Million Exit Gone Wrong: Eric Klein Reveals How He Lost Everything and Rebuilt His Life

Host: Paul Alex
Guest: Eric Klein
Release Date: October 11, 2025

Overview

This powerful episode of The Level Up Podcast features Eric Klein, an entrepreneur who built a company to a nearly $150 million exit—only to lose it all to lawsuits—and then rebuilt his life, business, and mindset from the ground up. Eric openly shares his journey from addiction and homelessness to massive business success and back, emphasizing resilience, family, leadership, and the unvarnished realities of entrepreneurship. The conversation is raw, motivational, and jam-packed with tactical and emotional wisdom for entrepreneurs and underdogs alike.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Eric’s Current Ventures and Business Background

• Real Estate & Remote Teams: Eric is active in real estate wholesaling and acquisitions, flipping homes, and rental property investments. He also owns Run It Remote, a 500+ employee call center in Pakistan servicing real estate and multiple other industries.
  • "We service the real estate industry, home services, and a couple off, like, hard money lenders and an insurance guy. We offer VA services." (03:28)
• Entrepreneurial Timeline: Started his entrepreneurial journey 14 years ago after recovering from addiction.
  • "I've been writing my own check for 14 years..." (04:12)

2. From Addiction Recovery to Entrepreneurship

• Eric’s wife was pivotal in his turnaround—meeting her three days before leaving treatment when he had $8 to his name and facing homelessness.
  • "She walks up, sits down, and...she's been with me ever since." (09:14)
• Candid about his struggles: drug and alcohol addiction, multiple DUIs, being 'broke, broken, helpless, hopeless, homeless'.
  • "From 13 to 28. Heavily addicted to drugs and alcohol. Crack cocaine was the one that brought me to my knees..." (08:26)
• Emphasis on channeling his addictive personality into productive pursuits: "I'm an addict through and through. But it's where—where do I focus my energy?" (13:55)

3. Building (and Losing) a Nine-Figure Company

• Built a timeshare exit company with his wife from nothing—over 150 employees, $34M/year in revenue, and $12M net at its peak.
  • "We were doing 34 million a year. We're netting 12 on that. My wife and I own 67% of the business." (02:42, 16:47)
• Received offers as high as $147 million for the company (structured as sale of 51% for $54M, then a second sale for the rest).
  • "We had offers from 147 million to 92 million." (18:25)
• The sale collapsed due to lawsuits from industry giants, which led to bankruptcy, laying off the entire staff overnight, and legal fees draining millions.
  • "They ended up suing us, my companies personally, and then me and my wife personally...I had to stand in front of 150 employees...and let them all go." (23:07–25:08)
• Eric and his wife ultimately settled for $6–7 million to close the lawsuits, starting over with nothing.
  • "We settled. It cost us—it was either 6 or 7 million..." (27:13)

Quote:
“I went from the crack house to a call center to saying I was going to be an entrepreneur. And seven years later, which it went like that. We’re talking about a massive exit.”
— Eric Klein (21:39)

4. Rebuilding: Pivots, Skills, and Scaling Again

• After losing everything, Eric entered wholesaling real estate, leveraging phone sales skills from his call center experience.
  • "I told my wife...give me a year and a half. I'll get all this back." (27:57)
• Quickly generated millions in new business; began coaching virtual sales for real estate.
  • "First year, 2.6 million. Next year, 3 point something..." (30:08)
• Founded Run It Remote as both a lead-gen tool for real estate and a scalable, English-speaking call center for multiple industries.
  • "15,000 sq ft facility in Pakistan...Our English is really good." (34:02)

5. Leadership & Family—Find Your Why

• Eric’s greatest motivation: his family, especially as he broke generational cycles. Deeply personal about leadership as a father, particularly turning his own son's health around through example and discipline.
  • “I want to show my family that no matter what the hell you...go through in life... I want to be the one that can be...the Shiloh [his wife's nickname] where she said I believe in you.” (37:13, 42:17)
• Inspired by others (Andy Elliott) and applying that inspiration directly to his family, not just business.
  • “Literally gives me goosebumps because without Andy...watching another man lead his family...there’s levels to this.” (40:01)

6. Mindset: Resilience, Ownership, and the Power of Circles

• Stresses the importance of relentless action, doing the hard things, and being truly honest about how contact and effort drive results in sales and life.
  • “It is a contact sport. The deals don’t find us, we find them...it is real, and you have to do the work to get the results.” (47:39–49:56)
• Extreme ownership over mistakes as a leader, including recent business setbacks and rapid pivots.
  • “90 days ago, I made a really bad decision...I lost over 300 grand...and I pivoted real quick, corrected the mistake.” (50:35)
• Advocates for auditing your circle, upgrading the people you’re around, and even paying to access better masterminds and networks.
  • “If you’re the only one in your circle that’s aspiring to do big, you more than likely need to find a new group.” (53:11)
  • Notable Quote: “There's a really good chance you don't have a circle, you have a cage. And that cage, you'll stay caged up for as long as you can.” (53:11)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On adversity:
  “My journey has not been luck. It’s been hard work and not giving up and showing up every single day and...just putting in the fucking work, dude.” — Eric Klein (09:28)

• On losing everything overnight:
  “I had to stand in front of 140, 150 employees...and with a conversation, I had to let them all go. It happened literally overnight.” — Eric Klein (25:08)

• On rebuilding:
  “Give me a year and a half, I’ll get all this back...I literally put the blinders on, dude, and I went to war." — Eric Klein (27:57)

• Life by design:
  "I want to build the most amazing family and give my family the experiences—not spoil them—but so they understand hard work.” — Eric Klein (37:13)

• Defining success:
  “The deals don’t find us, we find them...It’s a contact sport. Momentum is built, it’s not given to you.” — Eric Klein (48:38–49:56)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Eric’s business intro and current ventures: 02:44 – 06:00
• Addiction/recovery & meeting his wife: 07:34 – 10:42
• Building a timeshare exit empire & near $147M exit: 16:00 – 23:07
• Dealing with lawsuits and total loss: 23:08 – 27:07
• Rebuilding with real estate wholesaling: 27:57 – 31:35
• How ‘Run It Remote’ works and expanding to other industries: 32:09 – 36:12
• Purpose, family, and legacy: 36:48 – 42:37
• Mindset, routines, learning from adversity: 46:38 – 50:59
• The power of environment/circle: 52:34 – 54:58

Actionable Takeaways

• Start where you are: Every big transformation starts with a decision, often when you have nothing left.
• Bet on yourself: Entrepreneurship is about repeatedly showing up, even after massive setbacks.
• Upgrade your circle: The people you spend time with will determine your ambitions and your outcomes.
• Hard times require hard decisions: Lawsuits, layoffs, and betrayals are part of the entrepreneurship game.
• Resilience is a skill: Eric lost everything more than once—he rebuilt because he never stopped acting.

Where to Find Eric Klein

• Instagram: @theericklein
• YouTube: Eric Klein Official
• LinkedIn: Eric Klein

Summary Tone: Real, raw, motivational—true to both Paul’s high-energy, “Level Up” brand and Eric’s direct, no-excuses storytelling.

Ideal for: Entrepreneurs, aspiring business-builders, anyone facing adversity, or those looking for unfiltered truth about what it takes to lose—and win—at the highest levels.