In this concise six‑question interview, Professor Pete Alexander talks with valuation specialist Bharat Kanodia. Bharat introduces himself as a valuation expert who has appraised a wide range of unconventional assets, from iconic infrastructure like the Brooklyn Bridge, Golden Gate Bridge, and Atlanta Airport to modern tech companies such as Uber, Twitter, and Airbnb. He shares a light‑hearted story about valuing dams, illustrating how most appraisers focus only on the land beneath a structure, while he tackles the asset itself. When asked what chapter of a hypothetical business book all companies should read, Bharat emphasizes teamwork: a company is a group of people, not just bricks and mortar, and trust among members is essential. His core leadership advice centers on consistency and reliability—showing up every day, doing the same disciplined work, and building a track record that others can depend on. He recommends fellow business leader Tom Bronson as a podcast guest. Finally, Bharat recounts his first professional job as an appraiser, recalling a memorable assignment to appraise the Golden Gate Bridge despite having no prior experience, and how he figured it out on his own. He closes by directing listeners to his YouTube channel “What’s It Worth” and provides his email for valuation questions.
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This is Professor Pete Alexander with the Winning at Business and Life podcast, where business leaders share their insights. It is 6 questions in 7 minutes because successful business leaders are busy and rarely have more time to spare. So let's get to it. Question number 1: In a few sentences, please tell me who you are and what you do.
Hey, Professor Pete, thank you for having me. Um, I am a valuation expert. Um, I have been fortunate or unfortunate to value some of the most unique, um, assets in the world, um, including some of the very household companies that we know today and some of the, uh, biggest investments, uh, the American taxpayers have ever made.
Well, Bharat, it is a pleasure to have you on the show. And some of those things, if people are curious, do you want to describe a couple of those, uh, those assets and companies?
I was trying not to name-drop, but you know, make me do it, aren't you? You're gonna make me do it. Um, all right, here we go. Um, some of the unique assets I have done, um include the Brooklyn Bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge, Atlanta Airport, Mall of America Minneapolis, Alaskan Pipeline, Uber, Twitter, Airbnb, Yahoo. You know, I think I've heard of a couple of those.
Yes. Well, thank you for sharing those and, you know, and giving us that name drop. I think that's a good name drop. So question number 2, what is something that makes you smile and/or laugh about working in your industry?
Industry? You know, I'm not the guy you would go to if you want to value like a multi-unit apartment complex. I mean, I can do it, but it's not gonna tickle me. I'm the guy you come to when you cannot find anybody who would touch that asset with a 10-foot pole. So for example, I recently work with a family that owned 3 dams, dams. And I was speaking to the lady, and, you know, she was most genuine, and she said, you know, Bharat, I am so glad I met you. All the appraisers I was working with before, they only knew how to value the real estate on which the dam was sitting, not the dam itself. And I was like, yeah, well, that's the problem. You know, most people in my business, they silo themselves, and then they think within that box. I never had a box. You know, the last 20 years I've been, as I said, fortunate or unfortunate to appraise some of the weirdest assets. So I'm not afraid to roll up my sleeves and do something different.
That's great, and it's a great example that you shared. Thank you. Question number 3: I have a fictitious book with all the answers for business. What chapter would you think most companies should share with would read or recommend? Teamwork. Teamwork.
A company or a corporation is not the land and the building and the mortar. It's not. It's a group of people working together, forming a culture. And just like any family, yeah, they can be ifs and buts, and there can be disagreements. But at the end of the day, everybody has to know and believe that we're all in this together. And only then it's a real company. Otherwise, it's just, you know, a bunch of guys.
Yeah, and I like what you're saying, that it's, you know, working together. You know, there needs to be obviously trust in that. And if you have that trust, I'm assuming, you know, that it's just going to go even stronger as a company. Would you agree?
Most definitely. I mean, you have to believe that the person who I may have a disagreement with he or she still has their heart in the right place.
Absolutely. Great, great insight. Question number 4: Other than the generic work harder, have a great attitude, and care for customers, what advice would you give to other business leaders?
Consistency. Whatever you do, Business leaders, basically they're leading people, um, and they are patriarchs or matriarchs of a family, of a business family. And you're gonna make mistakes now, and it's okay. I make mistakes. But if you show up to work every day and you do same things every day and you do them consistently, you will improve and you will recognize your mistake and you will improve them. So now I understand when Woody Allen said 80% of life is showing up. I know exactly what he meant. It's basically, he meant consistency. You know, no matter how you feel, get up, dress up, show up.
It's so, so important. I like to also phrase that as reliability too. You show up, you're consistent, and people understand that you're reliable too because you've got that track record. Am I right?
Absolutely. I mean, nobody wants to work with a guy who's gonna be like, I don't know if he's gonna show up or not. Uh-huh. You know, that's, that's not cool. I mean, I don't know why they show an unreliable person to be cool in the movies. I think it's most uncool.
Yeah, I agree, because it's, you know, when you're unreliable, you create stress to the people that you work with, and it's just not, you know, in many cases, it's just not worth it to, to, to deal with somebody like that that consistently is is inconsistent or unreliable. So question number 5: What other business leader like yourself would you like to acknowledge and invite to be on my podcast?
You know, you should meet Tom Bronson. He is connected with me on LinkedIn. He's a good guy. He's out of Dallas, Texas. He says it like it is. And I think your energy will match his. I think you should have a good time.
Perfect. I appreciate that referral. I'll reach out to him. And our final question, question number 6: Please tell me about your first job.
Uh, my first job, uh, was as an appraiser. Uh, well, no, well, first job in, uh, was college, but that was a job. My first job as a professional was an appraiser. I've been in this business 20 years, so I have seen all different kinds of things. So, you know, I was good at it, and I built the network around it, and that's why I can almost appraise anything now.
So is there anything that you specifically had a funny story about from that first job as an appraiser, or anything interesting you want to share?
Sure. My boss comes over one day and says, "Barat, we have a contract to appraise the Golden Gate Bridge." And I go, "Okay, great. Who's doing it?" He's like, "You're doing it." I'm like, "Oh, okay." And I'm like, "You know I have never appraised a bridge in my life." And you want me to start with the Golden Gate Bridge? He's like, yeah. I'm like, okay, well, just check it. And oh, by the way, I'm also going to give you 3 guys to train. I'm like, wait, what? I don't know how to do it myself. You want me to train them? He's like, yeah. I'm like, how? He's like, figure it out. And he walked away. So guess what I did?
I figured it out. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah, see, and that's a great story because a lot of us can relate to that. It's just kind of like, you know, if you don't have the mentor to show us how to do it. You figure it out. That's how we learn and succeed. So great story. Thank you for sharing. And Bharat, thank you so much for being on the show. How can people find you?
You could find me via my YouTube channel, What's It Worth. My email is there. And if you have any questions, reach out, happy to help. I always enjoy educating people about valuations.
Perfect. This is Professor Pete Alexander with the Winning at Business and Life podcast. Thanks for listening.
