Alien Workshop's $4M Comeback

Rob Dyrdek shares a story about what he considers his worst business mistake - buying and giving away Alien Workshop.

"I acquired Alien Workshop for $4 million, then gave it back to the original founders free and clear. I also bought them a bunker in Ohio to run the company out of and gave that to them free and clear. It's the worst mistake I've ever made in my life.

Every adviser around me warned me this company doesn't make money, has terrible margins, and burns cash. But I didn't care - I didn't understand business well enough. I just wanted it for the story: the hometown kid buys back Alien Workshop, the company he helped name and create when he was 16.

When I acquired it, I felt like I acquired a hornet's nest. I learned so much about operational business, culture, and toxic culture dynamics. I realized my passion was to create, build, and generate ROI - which doesn't align with skateboarding's 'starving artist syndrome.'

I was on another call one day and thought, 'I don't want to put another bit of my energy here.' I decided the real hero story would be giving it back to the original founders who built the company and sold it. So that's exactly what I did."