I Sold My Social Media Company for $50M. Then I Got Fired. It may Have Saved My Life
On paper, I was untouchable.
Forty straight quarters of hitting targets. Global clients. Awards. The big exit everyone in our world quietly fantasizes about.
$50 million. My company. My name on the virtual door.
From the outside, it looked like the happily-ever-after. 10 years of succesful leadership, consistent performance, Then one afternoon, I I was asked to leave the very company I built.
Not a dramatic screaming match. No flipped tables. Just a calm, surgical conversation.
“We’re going in a different direction. We’re grateful for everything you’ve done.”
I nodded like a professional. I even thanked them.
I walked out with a nice package, a clean story, and a single brutal truth echoing in my head:
I didn’t know who I was without this.
"Imposter syndrome would be an understatement"
That was the part nobody saw.
Not the money.
Not the title.
"The real loss was identity".
I had built this rock-star CEO persona that looked powerful on stage and absolutely poisoned everything off stage.
My health. My marriage. My sense of self.
All quietly eroding while the numbers kept going up and to the right.
Because if external success is all you have… The day it gets taken away, there’s nothing left.
Getting fired didn’t ruin me. It exposed me.
"True Mother Fuckin' Story"
That moment, that call, I realized is where my real start began. It forced a question I’d avoided for years:
If I’m not the guy who sold his company for $50M…
"Who am I actually?"
If you’ve ever been fired, pushed out, or secretly terrified that one bad quarter could erase everything you’ve built… I’m talking to you.
"I’m not here to impress you with the highlight reel. "
Because the truth is: The firing didn’t ruin me. It interrupted a life that was already unsustainable. And that interruption might be the exact thing that saves yours.
Today, I help founders, execs, and creators who are “crushing it” on paper —use live conversations to rebuild identity, authority, and income on their own terms.
I know what it's like to lose everything while everyone thinks you've made it.
I'm Keith Bilous
I'm a CREATOR and LIVE Conversation architect.
That shock didn’t just sting my ego, it cracked my entire identity.
For the first time in years, I wasn’t “Keith, the founder who sold for $50M.” I was just a guy sitting in a quiet house in the middle of the day, staring at a calendar with no meetings on it.
And when the noise stopped, I started seeing the industry I’d helped build with brutal clarity.
An industry obsessed with vanity:
- Titles that sound bigger than the actual impact
- Follower counts treated like net worth
- Engagement metrics used as a substitute for real connection
I’d spent years inside a machine that rewarded who was seen the most, not who was actually telling the truth.
We celebrated “reach” more than we celebrated integrity. We chased impressions while people behind the dashboards were quietly burning out, breaking down, or numbing themselves just to keep performing.
Losing my job forced a hard question:
If all the numbers disappeared, no title, no audience, no “congratulations” posts, who was I actually in relationship with? Who would still pick up the phone? Who really knew me?
That’s where everything flipped for me.
I stopped believing influence was measured in followers, impressions, or likes. Influence, to me now, is measured in conversations:
- Who trusts you enough to talk to you live
- Who feels safe telling you the unpolished version of their story
- Who shows up again tomorrow, not because the algorithm pushed you, but because the connection is real
That realization is what pulled me out of the old game.
I rebuilt my thesis
Today, my work is built on a simple belief:
Influence comes from LIVE conversation, not clout.
"I don’t care how big your audience is. I care whether you can hold a LIVE real conversation.
World's First AI-HUMAN Host
I'm building a new kind of morning personality—AI + Human, LIVE by design, and inviting 100 founding hosts to start their own live conversations inside the Mornings in the Lab LIVE network.
Every era had its voice.
Radio had Howard Stern. Daytime TV had Oprah. YouTube has MrBeast. Podcasts have Joe Rogan. Each one hacked the medium of their time and became the personality people built their day around.
But the next era isn’t just about one voice.
We’re moving into a world where live conversation + AI becomes its own medium—and the “host” isn’t just a person on a stage, it’s a system: human presence, AI intelligence, real-time audience energy, all interacting live.
That’s the space I’m obsessed with.
I’m building a new kind of morning personality: AI + Human, LIVE by design—not pre-recorded, not over-produced, but happening in real time, with real people, every morning.
And I don’t want to be the only one.
I’m using Mornings in the Lab as the proving ground—and then opening the doors. The vision is simple:
100 founding hosts. 100 live shows. One network of real conversations.
Creators, founders, and leaders who are ready to stop hiding behind posts and funnels and start showing up live, with AI as their co-pilot, not their replacement.
I’m here to lead that conversation, build that stage, and invite the first 100 to step into the spotlight with me inside the Mornings in the Lab LIVE Network.
What I Teach - L.I.V.E FRAMEWORK
Leadership
courage to take the mic
Influence
move people to act
Vulnerability
be seen without armor
Energy
create the field that keeps people with you
I don’t coach people on how to get more followers or polish their LinkedIn bios.
I work with creators, founders, and executives, who’ve already proven they can win the game…
With me, you’ll learn how to:
- Turn your experience into real authority and create and host your own LIVE Morning Show so you can set the conversation for your community by leading live conversations and not just posting more content into the void.
- Detach your identity from your last win or last title so you’re not terrified of the next plot twist.
- Build a business that matches your actual values, not the version of you that was built to impress investors, bosses, or strangers on the internet.
Let's Work Together
If you’re ready to stop performing success and start actually living it, you’re in the right place.
If you are not ready to be vulnerable and put in the work. You are in the wrong place.
If you want to get real, take that next step and lead thru the power of LIVE conversation, keep reading.
I teach the L.I.V.E. Framework to turn experience into authority—without the perfection theater:
Show up LIVE . Not polished. Not scripted. Present.
If my story hit home and you want to bring this kind of honesty and energy into your world, here are a few simple ways we can work together:
- Live Conversation Strategy – Help you or your brand build a repeatable live show format that drives real relationships, deal flow, and authority.
- Keynotes & Speaking – Raw, candid talks for offsites and events on life after the exit, identity beyond your title, and leading without burning out.
- Mornings in the Lab: Offsite Host – Turn your next offsite into a live, interactive show built around your team, your challenges, and your goals.
- Executive Labs – Private, high-intensity sessions for founders and executives to rebuild identity, reset direction, and design a saner version of success.
- 1:1 Advisory – Behind-the-scenes support for post-exit and high-performing leaders navigating “now what?” in their next chapter.
OFF CAMERA
Off-camera, I'm a dad, a dedicated husband, a relentless morning person, and proof you can lose what you thought made you, and come back with what actually does.
Want in? Let's talk about launching your live conversation and turning your experience into influence.