Michael Lazerow at LeWeb in 2011

Michael Lazerow is a New York City-based serial entrepreneur who has founded several successful software companies. In 2007, Lazerow co-founded Buddy Media, Inc., a privately held company that sells social media marketing software[1]. Lazerow served as chairman and CEO before the company was sold to Salesforce.com on June 4, 2012, for $745 million.[2]

In 2019, Lazerow co-founded Velvet Sea Ventures,[3] a multi-stage venture capital firm. The firm has invested in Scopely[4] and Liquid Death.[5] Lazerow was also a seed investor in Scopely, which announced on April 5, 2023, that it had signed an agreement to sell for $4.9 billion to Savvy Games.[6]

Lazerow is a long-time fan of the Phish and has attended more than 150 Phish shows.[7]

While attending Northwestern University, Lazerow founded University Wire (now owned by Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS)), a network of more than 700 student-run newspapers. He later founded GOLF.com, which was purchased by Time Warner's Time Inc. division in 2006. Subsequent to the 2006 acquisition, Lazerow joined Time Inc. as General Manager of GOLF.com and GOLFONLINE.com.

Lazerow has a heart condition called a ventricular septal defect that resulted in an emergency aortic valve replacement in 1994.[8] His Youtube video "A New Beginning - Is Fear Holding You Back?" about the condition, posted after the sale of Buddy Media to Salesforce, has received more than 150,000 views.[9]

Lazerow graduated in 1996 with a B.S. and M.S. in journalism from Northwestern University, where he is still active as a member of the university's Medill School Board of Advisers. In September 2022, Lazerow and his wife, Kass, endowed The Mary Dedinsky Graduate Journalism Scholarship to honor Mary Dedinsky’s long-time service to Medill and the broader journalism profession. Mary was the first woman to be named managing editor of a major metropolitan newspaper. She is a member of the Chicago Journalism Hall of Fame and twice served as a Pulitzer Prize juror.[10] Mary also served as Lazerow's academic adviser at Northwestern.[11]

Lazerow lives in New York City with his wife, Kass, who served as Buddy Media's COO. Kass and Mike have three children, Myles, Cole and Vivian.

References

  1. ↑ "Buddy Media introduces Social Ad Management Software". www.mediabuzz.com.sg. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  2. ↑ Jones, Drew FitzGerald And Kristin (2012-06-04). "Salesforce to Acquire Buddy Media for as Much as $745 Million". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  3. ↑ "Velvet Sea Ventures – Building dreams through investment". Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  4. ↑ "Scopely Secures Additional $200 Million | Los Angeles Business Journal". labusinessjournal.com. Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  5. ↑ "Liquid Death Raises $9M Series A Round". BevNET.com. 2020-02-20. Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  6. ↑ "Scopely Acquired For $4.9 Billion By Savvy Games Group". socalTECH.com. April 5, 2023.
  7. ↑ "'It's just like ad tech': Why some people in media can't get enough Phish". Digiday. 2017-08-14. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  8. ↑ Shontell, Alyson. "How A Near-Fatal Heart Condition Inspired Buddy Media's Mike Lazerow To Become A Fearless Entrepreneur". Business Insider. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  9. ↑ A New Beginning - Is Fear Holding You Back?, retrieved 2023-04-11
  10. ↑ University, Medill-Northwestern. "Mary Dedinsky - Medill - Northwestern University". www.medill.northwestern.edu. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  11. ↑ University, Medill-Northwestern. "Medill Grad Honors Former Professor with Mary Dedinsky Graduate Journalism Scholarship - Medill - Northwestern University". www.medill.northwestern.edu. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
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