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Behind The Numbers With Dave Bookbinder

Behind The Numbers With Dave Bookbinder

By: Behind The Numbers With Dave Bookbinder
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Go Behind the Numbers With Dave Bookbinder to Discover What Drives Business Success

You’ve heard the saying: ”You can’t manage what you can’t measure.” But the real stories of business success happen behind the numbers.

Join business valuation expert and best-selling author, Dave Bookbinder, as he goes beyond the spreadsheets to explore what truly drives success.

With insights from top executives, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of leadership, finance, entrepreneurship, marketing, technology, and workplace culture.

Listen in and uncover the real factors behind business success!

Listened to in more than 100 countries | Recognized as one of the the top podcasts globally | Recognized with two awards for best in-category podcast.

Numbers tell a story but people bring it to life. ~ Dave Bookbinder

Copyright 2025. All rights reserved. Economics Leadership Management Management & Leadership Personal Finance
Episodes
  • Why Most Data & AI Initiatives Fail - And How to Create Real Business Value - Ritavan

    Why Most Data & AI Initiatives Fail - And How to Create Real Business Value - Ritavan
    Jan 20 2026
    How do companies turn data into real enterprise value - not just dashboards, pilots, and AI theater? In this episode of Behind The Numbers With Dave Bookbinder, Dave speaks with Ritavan, author of the award-winning book Data Impact and creator of the SLASOG framework, about why so many data and AI initiatives fail - and what leaders should do differently if they actually want results. Rather than chasing buzzwords or “digital transformation” for its own sake, Ritavan challenges leadership teams to treat data as a strategic asset for value creation. He explains how different economic paradigms - from hunter-gatherers to industrial firms to digital natives - shape how organizations extract value, and why legacy companies often underestimate their proprietary advantages. The conversation explores: Why most data and AI programs collapse under groupthink and misaligned incentives How companies like Walmart leveraged physical assets, customer demand, and scale to build defensible data advantages The dangers of chasing “quick wins” instead of compounding value Why KPIs must be context-specific to strategy, not borrowed from competitors Ritavan also breaks down his six-step SLASOG framework - Save, Leverage, Align, Simplify, Optimize, Grow - and shares practical guidance for leadership teams on aligning talent, culture, and first-principles thinking around long-term value creation. If your data strategy feels like “spray and pray,” this episode will help you identify where to start, how to uncover asymmetric advantages, and how to think about data the way investors and buyers do. About Our Guest: Ritavan is an entrepreneurial technology leader and over the past decade he has built and scaled data-driven solutions that have impacted billions of euros. He has authored peer-reviewed papers, given invited keynotes & workshops at global conferences, and holds an international patent. Ritavan is known for his first principles approach to data-driven value creation across industries. https://ritavan.com/ https://www.amazon.com/Data-Impact-businesses-LEVERAGE-SIMPLIFY/dp/178133921X/ About the Host: Dave Bookbinder is known as an expert in business valuation and he is the person that business owners and entrepreneurs reach out to when they need to know what their most important assets are worth. Known as a collaborative adviser, Dave has served thousands of client companies of all sizes and industries. Dave is the author of two #1 best-selling books about the impact of human capital (PEOPLE!) on the valuation of a business enterprise called The NEW ROI: Return On Individuals & The NEW ROI: Going Behind The Numbers. He’s on a mission to change the conversation about how the accounting world recognizes the value of people’s contributions to a business enterprise, and to quantify what every CEO on the planet claims: “Our people are this company’s most valuable asset.” Dave’s book, A Valuation Toolbox for Business Owners and Their Advisors: Things Every Business Owner Should Know, was recognized as a top new release in Business and Valuation and is designed to provide practical insights and tools to help understand what really drives business value, how to prepare for an exit, and just make better decisions. He’s also the host of the highly rated Behind The Numbers With Dave Bookbinder business podcast which is enjoyed in more than 100 countries. 🔸 Grab Dave’s Books: The New ROI: Return on Individuals | The NEW ROI: Going Behind The Numbers | A Valuation Toolbox for Business Owners and Their Advisors: Things Every Business Owner Should Know 🔸 Connect with Dave on LinkedIn 🔸 Connect with Dave on FaceBook 🔸 Follow Dave on Twitter 🔸 Check out www.NEWROI.com for more. 💡 Want to share your insights with the business community? Message Dave to learn how you can be a guest on Behind The Numbers. https://linktr.ee/BehindTheNumbers 🔹 Check out more of Behind The Numbers on YouTube BEHIND THE NUMBERS WITH DAVE BOOKBINDER IS AN AWARD-WINNING PODCAST THAT IS ENJOYED IN MORE THAN 100 COUNTRIES. THANK YOU FOR MAKING BEHIND THE NUMBERS AMONG THE MOST POPULAR PROGRAMS GLOBALLY!
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    31 mins
  • Turning Personal Challenge into Innovation: Building Nulu – Doug Katz

    Turning Personal Challenge into Innovation: Building Nulu – Doug Katz
    Jan 13 2026
    What happens when personal challenge meets disciplined innovation? In this episode of Behind The Numbers With Dave Bookbinder, Dave speaks with Doug Katz, founder and inventor of Nulu, an adaptive kitchen knife designed for people with joint pain, limited mobility, or strength challenges. Doug shares a journey that spans West Point, military service, hobby knife-making, and the pivotal moment when his own physical limitations sparked a completely different way of thinking about kitchen tools. Doug walks through the invention and design process behind Nulu, including the inspiration drawn from the Ulu-style circular blade and the broader philosophy of task-based design — redefining disability by focusing on what people can do, not what they can’t. He explains why Nulu made a deliberate 360-degree strategic pivot back into the adaptive market and what that decision revealed about product-market fit. The conversation dives into the realities of building a physical product business: prototyping, protecting IP, offshore manufacturing, scaling challenges, fulfillment hurdles, and the importance of getting products into users’ hands through lending libraries and live demonstrations. Doug also discusses bootstrapping, assembling what he calls the “commercial Avengers,” navigating reimbursement pathways, and identifying the KPIs that actually matter at this stage of growth. Doug closes by sharing lessons learned from mistakes, advice for founders building mission-driven products, what’s next on Nulu’s product roadmap, and where listeners can connect with him and learn more about Nulu. Subscribe to Behind The Numbers With Dave Bookbinder on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss an episode. If you enjoyed this conversation, please share it with your network and leave a review—it helps more business owners and advisors discover the show! About Our Guest: Douglas Katz is a West Point graduate, disabled Army veteran, and the inventor of NULU, an adaptive kitchen knife that reimagines food prep for people with joint, strength, or mobility challenges. Doug brings decades of cross-industry experience—from military service to steel casting, telecom, and lending—and now channels it into designing tools that promote independence, dignity, and real-world usability. Doug’s journey into adaptive innovation began with his own upper extremity limitations and his experience caring for his father. Frustrated by how poorly traditional tools served real people with real challenges, he designed NULU—a kitchen knife based on circular cutting geometry that delivers control without strain. Today, NULU is in full production and shipping to customers across the country, helping users cook safely, confidently, and with less pain. Building on that success, Doug is developing a hyperconfigurable arm sling designed for long-wear comfort and daily function—especially for users recovering from injury or managing chronic conditions. He’s also preparing to launch a new product in the gift space that empowers people to show up for each other with deeper care and presence. Doug’s design philosophy is simple but rare: function over flash, dignity over pity, and tools that actually work. Whether you’re aging, adapting, or caregiving, his work centers on building solutions that meet you where you are—and make life better from there. https://linktr.ee/dougkatz About the Host: Dave Bookbinder is known as an expert in business valuation and he is the person that business owners and entrepreneurs reach out to when they need to know what their most important assets are worth. Known as a collaborative adviser, Dave has served thousands of client companies of all sizes and industries. Dave is the author of two #1 best-selling books about the impact of human capital (PEOPLE!) on the valuation of a business enterprise called The NEW ROI: Return On Individuals & The NEW ROI: Going Behind The Numbers. He’s on a mission to change the conversation about how the accounting world recognizes the value of people’s contributions to a business enterprise, and to quantify what every CEO on the planet claims: “Our people are this company’s most valuable asset.” Dave’s book, A Valuation Toolbox for Business Owners and Their Advisors: Things Every Business Owner Should Know, was recognized as a top new release in Business and Valuation and is designed to provide practical insights and tools to help understand what really drives business value, how to prepare for an exit, and just make better decisions. He’s also the host of the highly rated Behind The Numbers With Dave Bookbinder business podcast which is enjoyed in more than 100 countries. 🔸 Grab Dave’s Books: The New ROI: Return on Individuals | The NEW ROI: Going Behind The Numbers | A Valuation Toolbox for Business Owners and Their Advisors: Things Every Business Owner Should Know 🔸 Connect with Dave on LinkedIn 🔸 Connect with Dave ...
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    30 mins
  • Equity Crowdfunding, Angel Investing, and Valuation Mistakes Founders Make - Karen Rands

    Equity Crowdfunding, Angel Investing, and Valuation Mistakes Founders Make - Karen Rands
    Dec 23 2025
    Equity crowdfunding and angel investing have changed how capital is raised - but many founders and investors still misunderstand valuation, risk, and what it really takes to build long-term wealth. In this episode of Behind The Numbers With Dave Bookbinder, Dave Bookbinder is joined by Karen Rands, President of Cougar Capital Holdings, host of The Compassionate Capitalist Show, and author of two books on angel and crowdfunding investing. Karen shares her journey from corporate leadership at IBM to building and leading a nationally recognized angel investor group, and why she’s dedicated her career to democratizing access to private investing. She explains how the JOBS Act opened the door to equity crowdfunding and why that shift matters for entrepreneurs, investors, and wealth creation beyond public markets. Dave and Karen unpack the differences between traditional venture capital and what Karen calls “compassionate capitalism,” along with the valuation mistakes founders commonly make when raising capital. They explore underutilized valuation metrics, realistic financial planning, and how misaligned expectations can derail otherwise promising capital raises. The conversation also breaks down the four primary types of equity crowdfunding - Reg CF, Reg D, Reg A+, and state exemptions - with practical guidance for both founders seeking capital and everyday investors looking to build diversified private-investment portfolios. Karen shares disciplined portfolio-building strategies and actionable first steps for newcomers interested in angel or crowdfund investing. This episode is a must-listen for business owners, founders, managers, and advisors who want a clearer understanding of valuation, capital formation, and smarter ways to participate in private markets. About Our Guest: Karen Rands is a leading voice in democratization of capital from private investors funding innovation and small business expansion — empowering individuals to create wealth by investing in entrepreneurs who are changing the world. She is leading the way with The Compassionate Capitalist Movement. Karen is the author of the best-seller Inside Secrets to Angel Investing: Step-by-Step Strategies to Leverage Private Equity Investment for Passive Wealth Creation. Her latest release, 2nd in the series, debuted as a Top Release on Amazon: Inside Secrets to Crowdfund Investing. Follow Jane’s Journey: See How a New Generation Builds Wealth with Purpose, Passion and Profit. She hosts a top 100 Business Podcast on Apple, The Compassionate Capitalist™ Show, where she interviews founders, investors, and thought leaders on best practices for wealth creation as a successful entrepreneur or investor in successful small businesses. Karen has spent over two decades bridging the gap between investors and innovators from her corporate days at IBM to her time spent managing a top ranked angel investor group, and now as a speaker, strategist, and educator. Click to go to Karen's LinkTree - http://bit.ly/linkCCS for links to social, free gifts, books, course, podcast, socials and to schedule a chat directly About the Host: Dave Bookbinder is known as an expert in business valuation and he is the person that business owners and entrepreneurs reach out to when they need to know what their most important assets are worth. Known as a collaborative adviser, Dave has served thousands of client companies of all sizes and industries. Dave is the author of two #1 best-selling books about the impact of human capital (PEOPLE!) on the valuation of a business enterprise called The NEW ROI: Return On Individuals & The NEW ROI: Going Behind The Numbers. He’s on a mission to change the conversation about how the accounting world recognizes the value of people’s contributions to a business enterprise, and to quantify what every CEO on the planet claims: “Our people are this company’s most valuable asset.” Dave’s book, A Valuation Toolbox for Business Owners and Their Advisors: Things Every Business Owner Should Know, was recognized as a top new release in Business and Valuation and is designed to provide practical insights and tools to help understand what really drives business value, how to prepare for an exit, and just make better decisions. He’s also the host of the highly rated Behind The Numbers With Dave Bookbinder business podcast which is enjoyed in more than 100 countries. 🔸 Grab Dave’s Books: The New ROI: Return on Individuals | The NEW ROI: Going Behind The Numbers | A Valuation Toolbox for Business Owners and Their Advisors: Things Every Business Owner Should Know 🔸 Connect with Dave on LinkedIn 🔸 Connect with Dave on FaceBook 🔸 Follow Dave on Twitter 🔸 Check out www.NEWROI.com for more. 💡 Want to share your insights with the business community? Message Dave to learn how you can be a guest on Behind The Numbers. https://linktr.ee/BehindTheNumbers 🔹 Check out more of Behind The Numbers on...
    Show More Show Less
    37 mins
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