Four out of five restaurants fail within five years. Mike Bausch didn’t just beat those odds—he built 12 thriving restaurants across 7 brands, starting from scratch at age 22. In this TEDx talk, filmed in Miami, Mike shares five raw, brutally honest truths from the restaurant industry—truths that double as life-changing lessons in leadership, resilience, and success.From navigating chaos and burnout to building systems that create profit and freedom, this talk isn’t just for restaurant owners—it’s for anyone who wants to thrive in high-stakes environments. Mike is the co-owner of Andolini's Pizzeria, ranked among America’s Top 10 pizzerias by CNN, Buzzfeed, and USA Today. He’s also the founder of the Unsliced Restaurant System, an online coaching program helping independent restaurant owners build businesses that don’t burn them out. Mike Bausch is a renowned restaurant industry leader, entrepreneur, and two-time Amazon #1 best-selling author of Unsliced: How to Stay Whole in the Pizzeria Industry and The Pursuit of Pizza. As the owner of Andolini's Worldwide, Mike has built an award-winning portfolio that includes Andolini's Pizzeria--named one of the "Top 10 Pizzerias in America" by TripAdvisor, CNN, BuzzFeed, and USA Today--along with five pizzerias, two gelaterias, two food hall concepts, a food truck, and a fine dining restaurant. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx