Scott Ramey: Fortune 100 Executive to Entrepreneur & Founder

Scott Ramey was a Division I athlete who once dreamed of playing professional basketball - until a career-ending injury at 19 triggered his first panic attack.

He went on to build a 30-year career in financial services, becoming a Fortune 100 executive that people turned to during moments of crisis.

While battling severe anxiety deep down inside.

This is his story: Watch on YouTube →

Raised in small-town Indiana, Scott grew up alongside 4 brothers and 35 foster kids.

This environment of “positive chaos” fostered a deep sense of competitiveness and desire to be a ‘fixer’.

Basketball became his primary identity. 

He aspired to play in the NBA or overseas until age 19, when he broke his foot 5 times in the same spot.

It ended his basketball career, triggering his first panic attack.

He ended up transferring to John Carroll University then interning at a broker-dealer which exposed him to financial services, sparking a 30-year career in the industry.

Scott rose to become a Fortune 100 executive known for staying calm during massive crises, such as the 2008 financial collapse & COVID pandemic.

But that success came at a high cost.

Scott admitted during our Clocking Out episode that he was paying the “masking tax”, i.e. appearing composed on the outside while battling severe anxiety and imposter syndrome within.

The breaking point: When doctors at Mayo Clinic discovered a heart arrhythmia in him. 

He broke down in front of his wife Michelle, telling her:

"I just cannot continue working in this environment."

The other defining moment: A phone call with his daughter who’d been benched from her college soccer team and had failed her first speech.

She too was struggling with anxiety.

For the first time in Scott’s life, he told someone other than his wife that he too had been living with anxiety his entire life.

That conversation unburdened him & gave him confidence to take the leap.

Today, Scott helps leaders and sales teams move away from the "more trap" (more meetings, more KPIs) by focusing on believability, and communicate with clarity and authenticity.