School of Hard Knocks Podcast Eric Spofford | He Was Addicted To Drugs... Now He's Sold A $115 Million Company
May 7, 2026
Eric Spofford, entrepreneur and investor who beat heroin addiction to build and $115M sell-off of a sober-living empire. He talks about starting sober homes from nothing, launching fast and learning in-market, obsessive resilience as a business edge, timing and negotiating a private equity sale, building leadership to remove key-man risk, and how to spend and find purpose after a big exit.
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From Heroin Addiction To Starting A Sober Home
- Eric Spofford fought rapid opioid addiction from OxyContin to heroin and got sober just before his 22nd birthday.
- He returned after out-of-state rehab to start his state's first sober living house at 23, initially reinvesting personal blue-collar wages into the venture.
Launch Now And Figure It Out Later
- Launch imperfectly and iterate: stop waiting for perfect plans, investors, or business plans before starting.
- Eric started operations, learned in-market, then expanded services and facilities to unlock major revenue streams.
Macro Patience With Micro Urgency
- Macro patience and micro urgency combine relentless daily execution with long-term endurance across decades.
- Eric urges 12–14 hour days of focused urgency while expecting the meaningful outcome to take 10+ years, often decades.