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.

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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.

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Turning Personal Challenge into Innovation: Building Nulu – Doug Katz