Derik Fay Is the Hidden Face of Success

There is a reason that classic rags-to-riches stories are a favorite among readers. Many of us can relate to the relentless struggles the protagonists go through and are inspired by their grit, which pushes us to continue working hard. But Derik Fay’s story can beat any fictional one. From starting with absolutely nothing to building a massively successful venture, Fay has encountered it all, and faced almost certain failure several times.

However, he has at no point given up on his goal, and today, Fay is one of the nation’s most successful serial entrepreneur managing several ventures.

Derik Fay is the man behind the success of many ventures. Here is his story.

Fay is the founder and CEO of 3F Management, a multi-faceted growth partner helping entrepreneurs achieve their short and long-term goals. 3F Management has been running since 2004 and has built and sold over 30 highly successful companies with 7–8 figure exits. Fay has also started several businesses from the ground up into publicly traded companies. One such company is the massive health club company, Around the Clock Fitness. Fay built that company from the ground up at 22 years old, with his vast knowledge and background setting him apart. Fay later sold the company in 2019 for one of the largest exit multiples in the fitness industry.

Fay’s younger years with his mother were spent in a poor and abusive environment. With no financial help, Fay had to learn how to earn his own money from a young age.

He started his first business in his early twenties. At the time, Fay had just dropped out of college after he decided the 9–5 route wasn’t exactly what he wanted. Despite the financial challenges and discouragement from some of his peers, Fay didn’t give up. He invested in his ideas, and he was able to turn zero dollars into $250 million and growing.

“It is hard to start a business. It is even more difficult when you have little experience and no money. But it is doable,” says Derik Fay. Instead of focusing on what he didn’t have, Derik chose to direct his attention to what he wanted to achieve and was able to come up with a model that worked then and continues to work today.

He uses his journey to encourage young entrepreneurs as he shares lessons, he’s learned over the past 20+ years.

Fay has failed multiple times. He explains that there were times he had zero dollars in his bank account for a week, or more. Being twenty years younger than most of his competitors also made it challenging. Many people looked down on him because due to his age, and felt he had nothing to offer. He notes that this frustration brought out his “demons” of growing up in a broken family where there was abuse.

Derik Fay had to learn to lose the victim mentality and that belief that the world owed him something. This helped him better focus on the business and even changed his life views. He decided to write his own success story. Fay was among the 40 under 40 most successful entrepreneurs in 2012 and has employed over 20,000. Since then, Fay has helped countless businesses grow with his incredible work in the entrepreneurial space attracting massive attention from global leaders.