Zvi Band

“It’s not what you know; it’s who you know.” That’s a popular catchphrase in the business world, encouraging folks to build relationships. And Zvi Band saw this to be true. Throughout his career, he realized that many of his opportunities came from knowing the right people and being in the right place at the right time. He started asking himself what he could do better to improve his ability to connect with others. This eventually led him to create Contactually, a CRM platform that powered over 200 million relationships when it was acquired in 2019.

Zvi’s focus is not just on building relationships but nurturing those existing connections you have. His book, Success Is In Your Sphere, shares habits and strategies to deepen those relationships. But it starts with understanding your goals so that you can identify the right people to connect with regularly.

After an introduction to Zvi from fellow weirdo Danielle, we were immediately captivated by his relationships-first philosophy and his plans for “bringing humanity back together.” He is currently building TalkSocial, a platform allowing folks to gather in small groups and have deep and fulfilling conversations, which we’ve had the pleasure of experiencing. Zvi is also a mentor and advisor to early-stage startups and helped co-create the DC Tech Meetup, the largest meetup of its kind in the country.

Zvi is always on the lookout for technology and systems that help bring people together. He’s also a huge hot sauce fan, and you may hear about it the next time you chat with him — especially if you mention breakfast burritos.

🤓 I geek out about…

Technology and systems that help bring people together.

🎒 I collect…

Way too much hot sauce.

💬 My friends ask my advice about…

Starting a company. Growing a relationship-driven business. Riding the rollercoaster of a new venture.

🧰 How my weird obsessions show up in my work…

I will randomly insert hot sauce references in nearly every written work.

🌤️ A thing that makes me hopeful about the future of business:

New technologies completely shaking up the chess board of business, at the same time the convergence of post-pandemic, post-Trump, Conscious Leadership and its kin, and newer generations entering the work force can lead to a complete re-thinking of whats important in our professional lives. Deeper connection and meaning in our work over ratcheting up profits at the expense of others.

💭 I wish more companies would…

Have more ambition about their world impact - building a business is hard no matter what!

💛 How can companies and industries take better care of people?

One simple idea I’ve been thinking of is a push for digital detoxes. Emphasize that they need time away from notifications, and to a lesser extent technology in general, to rest their brain.

❓ A question I love:

What would most people say about you that you’d disagree with?

🚶 I would walk/drive/travel 500 miles to…

See Daft Punk live.

You can learn more about Zvi at zvi.band.