From $30,000 Debt to an 8-Figure AI Publishing Empire – The Yehuda Niv Playbook | #222 Spines
Listen to us wherever you get your podcasts (click the links below!)
Episode Description
In this episode, Yehuda Niv, founder of Spines and Niv Publishing, shares his entrepreneurial journey from a struggling musician to a publishing disruptor. Yehuda details how he built Israel’s largest publishing house, scaling it to over 1,200 books a year, and later transitioned into AI-powered publishing with Spines, securing $16M in Series A funding.
Key takeaways include:
Navigating failure: How Yehuda moved from an unsuccessful music career to engineering and eventually publishing.
Scaling a business: Lessons from nearly going bankrupt twice and how he ultimately structured a self-sufficient management team.
AI’s role in publishing: How Spines automates book formatting, cover design, metadata optimization, and distribution, allowing authors to bypass traditional publishing constraints.
Fundraising strategy: Yehuda’s insights on securing venture capital, including his bold approach to pitching Oren Zeev (early investor in Audible).
Leadership philosophy: The importance of mentors, data-driven decision-making, and empowering employees to create a scalable business.
This episode is packed with actionable insights on growth, automation, and resilience, making it a must-listen for aspiring entrepreneurs, authors, and tech founders.
https://findingfounders.co/subscribe
Website: findingfounders.co
Follow Sam: https://www.instagram.com/samueldonner/
Follow Finding Founders IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingfounderspodcast/
