Dan Rootenberg
Co-Founder & CEO, Spear Physical Therapy
Dan Rootenberg is the CEO of Spear, the only two-time National Practice of the Year award winner. Dan co-founded Spear in 1999, working out of a small treatment room in midtown Manhattan. He had a singular vision for combining clinical excellence with a five-star customer service experience. Spear has since grown to 77 locations throughout NYC, Westchester, Long Island, New Jersey and CT, employing over 1100 people currently and is continuing to expand further.
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April 1, 2026
The Career Curveball That Turned a Small PT Clinic Into a Market Leader
Dan Rootenberg’s career changed course not because of a big win—but because a dream fell apart. On track for a professional baseball career, the 1994 MLB strike ended his dreams in an instant and forced him to rethink his future. When another student no-showed on the first day of PT school, a last-minute acceptance led Dan to find his footing in physical therapy. With just $6000, he co-founded Spear Physical Therapy in 1999 in a rented room inside a gym with the belief that clinical excellence a...
Guest: Dan Rootenberg