THE BOOK
The Value Equation:
A Business Guide to Wealth Creation for Entrepreneurs, Leaders, and Investors
Discover one of the surest means to create personal wealth by building a profitable business.
Every now and then, a business book comes along that offers original insights and a fresh perspective. In The Value Equation: A Business Guide to Creating Wealth for Leaders, Entrepreneurs and Investors, veteran executive, entrepreneur, and investor Chris Volk delivers a straightforward explanation about how businesses work and provide wealth for entrepreneurs and investors. The author’s signature approach is centered on his award-winning wealth creation formula in a book designed to simplify complex subjects with math no more complicated than what you learned in middle school.
Readers will become acquainted with the characteristics of successful business models, together with insights into how leaders can improve their own models in ways that generate personal and collective wealth. The author’s framework presented in The Value Equation is the foundation upon which most of the largest personal fortunes were built.
Volk also provides supplemental materials including interactive Excel spreadsheets, illustrations, and sample corporate financial models on a companion website. There is even a link to an award-winning video series created by Volk that served as his inspiration for the book. Full of illustrative case studies that highlight crucial business and finance concepts, The Value Equation includes:
Explorations of the true value of using OPM (Other People’s Money) and capital stack variations to build and grow your company.
Advice on business assembly, growth, mergers, acquisitions, and corporate reengineering, including discussions of valuation multiples, common risks, and capital options.
Guidance on how to valuate business models, delivered with help from a variety of stories and case studies. Uniquely, the author also draws on his own background, including the introduction of three successful companies to the public markets, two of which he was instrumental in founding.
The Value Equation is an indispensable addition to the libraries of anyone interested in growing wealth and capital through business, whether as a business leader, entrepreneur, or investor.
“Few people can rival Chris Volk’s nuanced understanding of markets and business or match his record of success and commitment to evidence-based research. The Value Equation is comprehensive and comprehensible. Every page is grounded in practice, deep reflection and market-tested experience. Chris’ achieves a lot; he has integrated modern corporate finance with in-the-trenches practice, and he does so in ways that are creative and illuminating. Buy this book!”
Randall Zisler, Ph.D.
Chairman at Zisler Capital Associates, LLC,
Presenting Outsourced Research
“The Value Equation is a natural extension of Chris’s successful career-long exploration of his business formula for creating wealth. A must-read for every business leader, MBA student, entrepreneur, or investor.”
Amy Hillman, PhD
Arizona State University
Rusty Lyon Chair of Strategy and Professor
Department of Management and Entrepreneurship
“In The Value Equation, Chris Volk presents a time-tested business model that teaches readers the financial dynamics of how great fortunes are built and how they can do it too. I highly recommend it!”
Daniel Burrus
Serial entrepreneur, and author of seven books including
The New York Times bestseller Flash Foresight,
and The Anticipatory Organization.
“When someone who has helped found and build companies that have created business and corporate wealth writes a thoughtful book about how to create business and corporate wealth you should read it! Chris has written a detailed and informative book which many can benefit from.”
Larry Pitkowsky
Managing Partner,
GoodHaven Capital Management
“As a serial entrepreneur, I found The Value Equation offers unique insight into the process of how businesses are both created and valued. Chris leverages his years of experience and success in building three of his own businesses to provide a clear and common sense approach to how wealth is generated. This is a must-read for every business leader.”
Kevin Shields
Chairman and CEO,
Griffin Capital Company, LLC