Pivot from Corporate: An Entrepreneur’s Journey with Dave Babst

Dave Babst, President and Co-Founder of DNA Business Consulting, opens up this episode by sharing how the birth of his eldest daughter and becoming a father for the first time shaped his outlook on what is important in life. Dave and his wife Amanda knew in advance that their eldest daughter Katherine would have a potentially challenging birth as she was identified in utero as having a congenital heart defect. Dave shares how the experience of Katherine’s birth changed his outlook to focus his life on how to be of service.

We also explore a number of important topics relating to the ever-changing world of work and how to adapt to changing circumstances. Dave started his career working for some of the top firms: Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, National City, Google, and Publicis Groupe. He decided to become an entrepreneur so that he could be home more to help out when Katherine needed some surgeries as a young girl.

We talk about how valuable fractional roles are for mid-career folks, especially given the ageism in the corporate world. Dave and Katy share their top tips for how to explore fractional roles if you have been faced with downsizing or being laid off.

Dave shares how he has adapted and pursued strategic alliances that have helped his business become even more valuable to the founders, whom he helps scale by unlocking value and growth drivers.

Dave remains deeply involved in his community, serves on nonprofit boards, and coaches youth sports teams. He and his wife Amanda live in Cleveland, Ohio, where they’re the proud parents to three teenagers. Dave holds a JD from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, an MBA from the Katz Graduate School, and a BA from the University of Richmond with additional executive education from Stanford’s School of Design.

LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-babst/

Website: https://dnabizconsulting.com/