#58 Shawn Johal | We were dead broke and pregnant. Then we scaled to 8 figures. How Shawn built a lighting empire from a sinking ship

2025-06-02

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When your business crashes, your reputation tanks, and your wife’s about to give birth… what do you do?In this jaw-dropping episode of RadEO, Ross Drakes sits down with Shawn Johal; entrepreneur, coach, author of The Happy Leader, to unpack the wild, humbling, and inspiring story of how he lost everything, rebuilt from the ashes, and ended up leading a business culture so powerful that private equity bought in because of it.Key takeaways:Culture isn’t a perk, it’s a power moveToxic positivity will ru...

When your business crashes, your reputation tanks, and your wife’s about to give birth… what do you do?

In this jaw-dropping episode of RadEO, Ross Drakes sits down with Shawn Johal; entrepreneur, coach, author of The Happy Leader, to unpack the wild, humbling, and inspiring story of how he lost everything, rebuilt from the ashes, and ended up leading a business culture so powerful that private equity bought in because of it.

Key takeaways:

Culture isn’t a perk, it’s a power move

Toxic positivity will ruin you

Your competitor was probably at your last braai

Fire the brilliant jerks

Happiness is a system, not a slogan

This episode isn’t about getting rich. It’s about building right. Right team. Right mindset. Right culture. If you’re serious about scaling, this one’s for you.

Subscribe on iTunes, Spotify or Overcast. Enjoy.

More about Shawn Johal

Shawn Johal is a growth-obsessed entrepreneur, Scaling Up coach, and author of The Happy Leader. After co-founding DALS Lighting, he helped scale it from near-bankruptcy to an 8-figure exit. Today, he runs Elevation Leaders, coaching ambitious founders to scale smarter, lead happier, and build cultures that actually work. He’s also a former EO Montreal President and a fierce advocate for entrepreneurial wellbeing.

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