Craig Keegan—a Melbourne-based M&A and roll-up operator focused on dental practice consolidation—shares key lessons from his entrepreneurial journey. He emphasizes the importance of owning your own product, system, and IP after being burned by failed partnerships and unethical operators, which led him to always build his own platforms and processes. Craig outlines his four rules for relationships and partnerships (know what you can and can’t do, never lie, never ignore) and stresses that business is fundamentally about relationships and trust. He explains his view of influence as what people say about you when you’re not in the room (or even in the same country), describing how consistent content creation—80 podcasts and 200 LinkedIn articles in 12 months—has attracted global interest in his Dental Exit Cooperative model. Craig also reflects on his personal evolution from a troubled, rebellious student with a violent upbringing to “version five” of himself, deeply influenced by mentor JT Fox, whose knowledge, care, and similar background earned Craig’s respect and reshaped his approach to learning, mentoring, and adding tangible value in every interaction.