Success is often a poor teacher. Adversity and failure, however, can create incredible change. 


Here’s my journey through challenges:


An Unexpected Lesson That Changed Everything


I was nine years old, gripping a picket sign at the Orlando International Airport, walking in a protest line with my parents. A pilot and a flight attendant—storybook cute, right? But the airline was on strike. And soon, it wouldn’t exist at all. Both of my parents, out of work. Our world, unraveling.

Would we lose our house? My friends? How would we survive? Questions no nine-year-old should have to ask, yet there I was, staring down uncertainty. That day, I learned something profound: my parents’ careers weren’t under their control. They could have been the best in their fields, but it didn’t matter. Their fate was in someone else’s hands.


In that moment, a fire ignited in me—I would never let my livelihood be controlled by anyone else. Entrepreneurship wasn’t just a choice; it was my destiny.


Making the Choice

I chose dentistry as my entrepreneurial vehicle. Healthcare fascinated me, and let’s be real—it pays well. I could launch my journey with the safety of a high-income skill while still building something bigger. Before I even graduated dental school, I was obsessed—not just with teeth, but with building a great dental company. Group dentistry was my path. I just had no idea where that path would lead.

A Blessing in Disguise

Call it luck. Call it divine intervention. Either way, I was grateful. The 2008 financial crisis hit just as I secured my first practice loan—and then the bank yanked it away. My dream, seemingly gone before it even began.

But life had other plans. A large DSO stepped in, offering financing, support, and buying power. I had the vision; they had the resources. It was the perfect partnership. Or so I thought.

Rocket-Fueled Growth… and the Crash That Followed

I partnered with the DSO from day 1. Year 1: Nearly $2M in production. Year 2: $4M. Then a second office. Then a third. Before I knew it, I was running a $13M business, jet-setting across the country, training others in the systems that fueled our success.

It was a dream come true—until it wasn’t.

The dream shattered when I found myself entangled in a brutal regulatory lawsuit, caught in the crossfire between DSOs and state dental boards. I was blindsided. My allies turned into adversaries. My legal bills skyrocketed into seven figures. Surely, this would turn out okay, right?

Wrong.

When the dust settled, I had nothing. No practices. No job. No money. Just a terrifying question: What now?

From the Ashes, A New Beginning

No time for self-pity. I went back to work.

“You can do it again, Eric. Faster. Smarter. Better.”

And I did. New offices. More patients. More dentists. But this time, I vowed to do things differently. The last company crashed to the ground—I wasn’t about to repeat history.

Or so I thought.

Burning Out While Trying to Please Everyone

Despite my efforts, the new company was generating a lot of dentistry, but not a lot of profit. I bent over backward trying to keep everyone happy, yet no one was thriving. We teetered on the edge of bankruptcy—three separate times. Employees left as fast as they arrived. I was exhausted.

This industry was tougher than I ever imagined.

Winning at Work, Losing at Home

But finally, things started clicking. The culture improved. Profitability turned around. We scaled to nearly $40M in revenue. On paper, I was winning.

But at home? I was losing.

My five kids barely knew me. I missed the school plays. The sports games. The bedtime stories. My wife got the worst of me—when she got anything at all. I’d built this business for freedom, for family, for a life I loved. But this? This wasn’t it.

I looked in the mirror, ashamed. Something had to change—now.

The "Solution" That Solved Nothing

I pulled the ripcord. I exited the business. Two years of negotiations led to a successful private equity sale. Financially, it was a win. I had more money in my bank account than I had ever imagined.

Personally? A disaster.

Now I was home, fully present—but my family didn’t know what to do with me. Selling the business didn’t fix the damage I’d done. It only gave me time to start fixing it. And the road to get where I wanted my family life to be wasn’t paved. My family experience wasn’t validating. And the one thing that had validated me…the business…was long gone.

Can Systems Save a Family?

Systems had rescued my business. Could they rescue my family? I had no blueprint, so I built one. Slowly, intentionally, I repaired the connections I’d neglected. I became the husband and father I was meant to be.

But professionally? I was lost.

Who was I now?

Rediscovering My Purpose

Coaching. Speaking. Venture capital. Software startups. I dabbled in everything. And I failed a lot. Maybe not a complete failure, but I didn’t get what I expected. Had my success had just been a fluke? Who was I? And what was I supposed to do next?

Turns out, I didn’t need to reinvent myself. I just needed a new perspective.

I was always the same person: A visionary. A builder. A creator. Someone who sees a bigger, better future—not just for myself, but for others.

I Am Who I Am

I bring energy. I bring love—real, genuine love. People often ask, “Is Eric Roman really like that?”

Yep.

It’s just me. And for the first time, I’m really content to be the man I was created to be.

And I’ve been around the block a few times in the dental industry. I’ve run coaching companies. I have what

feels like “10,000 hours” on stage.

I’ve built renowned programs for teams. I’ve been a thought-leader for so many of dentistry's most esteemed companies, and I’ve even tried my own hand at software startups. Heck, I’ve even run away from the dental industry completely…3 times! I’ve built programs to help entrepreneurs enjoy personal and family success. I’ve coached non-dental entrepreneurs and teams.

Through all of that…what have I learned?

I believe in a better future for dental groups. For dentists. For clinical directors. For our people. And for this entire industry. My passion is sharing what I’ve learned—my systems, my insights, my energy—to help others succeed.

I want to be right here.