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Today we’d like to introduce you to Gregg Champion.
Gregg, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today? When I first got sober 25 years ago, little did I know that it would lead to a career path. In the last decade, I had been teaching Entrepreneurship at USC and working as a Recovery Coach for various treatment centers. The unique messaging that I brought to the groups at these treatment centers was centered around entrepreneurship, the power of mentors, and the ability to shift one’s addiction to one’s passion. From there, I opened up my own private client coaching business. My clients ranged from newly sober individuals to C-Suite executives, business owners, real estate agents, empty-nester moms, you name it.
Gregg’s recovery is nothing short of extraordinary. While all who battle addiction know that staying sober can be extremely challenging, few survivors are able to so successfully channel their passion and purpose into helping other addicts find their meaning in their own lives. At START UP RECOVERY, that’s precisely how Gregg helps others, by helping them shift their addiction to their passions.
I had a meeting with my own mentor, USC Professor Patrick Henry who told me, “Champion, you know two things really well – Recovery and Start Ups.” From that meeting came the company’s name – START UP RECOVERY. It was when I met my business partner and Co-Founder, Jeffrey Vann who had the vision to move my coaching business to a headquarters where my unique curriculum could work with in-house clients.
In the first year, we had one residential luxury property that houses up to seven people. Due to necessity, in our second year, we expanded to include a second residence we call the Villa. What makes us different is that we offer individual recovery playbooks, so that each client has their own success story.
Now coming up on our third year, we brought on industry veteran, Patricia Meyers as a Partner, and the START UP Apartments opened in January. We have also forged a strategic partnership with mysoberroommate.com which we are very excited about.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Like any new venture, there is a steep learning curve. Having no prior experience, we didn’t know the ebbs and flows of the industry. The struggles also included gaining the industry’s trust, being new we had to prove ourselves more than anyone else. Lastly, we were setting up the proper financial modeling, which was done in real-time.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about START UP RECOVERY and THE RECOVERY PLAYBOOK® – what should we know?
START UP RECOVERY delivers leading-edge entrepreneurial resources in a safe and structured luxury recovery environment, designed to transform lives, starting with rebuilding one’s relationship with self. We approach each of our residents with the same vigor we have used to launch startups and turn around companies.
We cater to C-Suite executives, professionals, artists, others who simply need to push the reset button on their lives. We are known for our proprietary coaching curriculum, world-class sober mentor network, and a structured program centered around accountability, education, community and love.
As a company, we are most proud of our growing alumni who have had meaningful outcomes after turning their addictions into true passions. It makes us proud when many of our alumni return for our weekly marquee sober mentor nights. We are immensely proud of how quickly we were able to garner the trust of our fellow industry leaders. We’re proud of our staff and that 90% of them are in their own recovery.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Safety, transformation and being of service are our key values. It’s important to be flexible and realistic. Each day has proven to be different, especially with outside events like navigating the wildfires and more recently the quarantine for the Covid-19 virus. We are committed to always be in the solution.
We honor our spoken word, we are passionate about what we do, and we keep all stakeholders informed about what is happening which has been critical to our success and reputation.