In a year when more than 6,200 NSW businesses went insolvent, furniture maker Dean Boyd became one of them.

In this episode, Dean reflects on the journey of building Living Timber Co from $26 and a garage into a business delivering national projects, before the difficult decision to place the company into liquidation.

We explore what happens when passion meets rapid growth, rising interest rates and the quiet pressure many founders carry to do everything themselves. Dean speaks candidly about burnout, the warning signs he overlooked, and why he now views the experience as a failure without regrets, not something to be ashamed of, but something to learn from and move on from.

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6,200 NSW Businesses Went Insolvent in 2025: Lessons From When It Doesn’t Work Out with Dean Boyd (Episode #512)

The Mentor with Mark Bouris

6,200 NSW Businesses Went Insolvent in 2025: Lessons From When It Doesn’t Work Out with Dean Boyd (Episode #512)