Episode
The fetal position moment every Entrepreneur knows (And nobody talks about) | Ryan Austin
- Podcast
- Capability Edge
- Published
- Apr 24, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 2950
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://talentcollective.org/
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Summary
From side hustle at 15 to SaaS founder — Ryan Austin shares the raw entrepreneur story behind personal growth, success mindset, self improvement, and starting a business with nothing but grit. ___________________ JOIN US FOR OUR LIVE EVENT: We run a career-changing live event every month. 🔗 Register here: https://talentcollective.org/live ___________________ In this candid conversation, Ryan — Founder and CEO of Cognota, the world's first Learn Ops platform — tells the full, unfiltered story of what entrepreneurship actually looks like from the inside. The side hustles that became real businesses. The exits. The wrong partnerships. And the moment in Austin, Texas, when he slid down against a wall, went into something like a fetal position, and genuinely thought it was over. This is not a highlight reel. This is the real thing. 🔑 What you'll get from this conversation: → How Ryan turned a teenager's side hustle into real businesses with employees — before he could drive → Why his university campus store shut him down (and what he did next) → The wrong partnership that killed a business that could have been massive → How he became SVP by pitching the board a revenue stream they didn't know they needed → The $100K phone call that came the second he hit rock bottom → Why he says "businesses don't die unless you kill them" → What the SaaS apocalypse looks like from inside a company going fully AI-native → His advice for anyone in L&D or corporate training who is job searching right now → What he'd tell his younger self — including the childhood stuff he rarely shares Whether you're building a business from scratch, navigating a career pivot, working in learning and development, or sharpening your entrepreneur mindset — this one's for you. MEET RYAN AUSTIN: Ryan Austin i…