Working Together During High Stress Periods

Stop making million dollar decisions alone. Hampton gives you a personal board of eight vetted founders in your city who meet monthly to tackle your hardest problems. Find your group: https://joinhampton.com/

Kass and Mike Lazerow built two companies together, sold one for $25M… and the next for $745M. Along the way, they went bankrupt, survived dot-com busts and Facebook booms, and figured out how to build a business without destroying their marriage. 

Here’s what we talk about:

• What it’s actually like to sell your company for $745 million
• The early Golf.com bankruptcy scare, and how Tiger Woods saved the business
• Why their co-founder relationship works (and where it almost blew up entirely)
• Mixing work and love: the brutal fights, trust, and one-liners from the delivery room
• Full breakdown of their first splurge, and what “enough” money really means
• Raising $50M without meaning to sell, and getting a surprise offer from Salesforce
• The $12M flop that reminded Mike why Kass is the only co-founder he needs
• Co-founder red flags, communication rules, and how they manage disagreements
• Living rich vs. feeling rich: the moment they finally felt secure

Cool Links:

• Hampton https://www.joinhampton.com/
• Lower Street https://www.lowerstreet.co/
• Kass and Mike https://kassandmike.com/ 
• Kass and Mike's book: Shoveling $h!t: A Love Story https://www.amazon.co.uk/Shoveling-Story-about-Entrepreneurs-Success/dp/B0DY21NS7W 

Sponsors:

• The modern way to run your business phone is https://www.quo.com/perks/moneywise
• Achieve your dream body with https://www.dailybodycoach.com/moneywise
• Protect your upside and get your time back at https://www.cressetcapital.com/moneywise

Chapters:

• (1:26) The $745M Buddy Media exit
• (4:29) What people get wrong about working with a spouse
• (6:22) How Kass and Mike met
• (8:44) The Golf.com story
• (15:33) Managing team dynamics as married co-founders
• (23:17) Handling finances as a married couple
• (28:18) What they did with the money after the exit
• (32:33) Lessons learned and what they'd do differently
• (36:58) Closing thoughts on finding the right co-founder

This podcast is a ridiculous concept: high-net-worth people reveal their personal finances. Inspired by real conversations happening in the Hampton community.

Your Host: Harry Morton

• Founder of Lower Street, a podcast production company helping brands launch and grow top-tier podcasts.
• Co-parents a cow named Eliza.