Michael and Kass Lazerow, entrepreneurs known for co-founding Golf.com and Buddy Media, dive deep into the gritty truths of building businesses. They discuss their emotional struggles, including family betrayal and near bankruptcy, emphasizing the importance of resilience. With insights into their 'Go Gauge' for vetting investments, they share the art of firing with empathy. Their unique marketing strategies that helped launch brands like Liquid Death demonstrate how humor can captivate customers. This candid conversation blends entrepreneurial lessons with personal anecdotes about balancing marriage and business.
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question_answer ANECDOTE
Golf.com Collapse Crisis
Chipshot.com went bankrupt after backing out of a public offering, leaving golf.com with no funds to pay payroll.
Despite financial crisis, Michael and Kass Lazerow navigated this by being transparent and hitting the road to fundraise.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Family Betrayal During Crisis
A family member threatened to sue and even kill Michael Lazerow during the golf.com crisis, causing deep personal pain.
This betrayal was harder to handle than the business failure itself.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Just Start Building
To start a business, just begin doing it; avoid getting stuck sharing ideas without taking action.
Execution and reps are essential to progressing beyond the idea stage.
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A Story About Entrepreneurs, Relationships and Doing Whatever It Takes to Win
Kass Lazerow
Mike Lazerow
Episode Description:
James reconnects with entrepreneurs Michael and Kass Lazerow, whose journey spans selling Golf.com for $24 million, launching and pivoting Buddy Media into a $700 million Salesforce acquisition, and now investing in breakout brands like Liquid Death. This episode isn’t about startup clichés—it’s about emotional resilience, firing with kindness, how marriage can (barely) survive co-founding, and how to spot a trend before the world does.
They break down their “Go Gauge,” the six-part test they use before investing in a company. They talk about the trauma of being betrayed by family. And they reveal the surprisingly simple cheat codes they’ve used to keep building—and keep loving each other—across decades of risk. Whether you're building a business, looking for one good idea, or wondering what failure really feels like behind closed doors—this episode will give you a few new answers.
What You’ll Learn:
Why transparency—not optimism—is a founder’s best crisis tool
The six traits every idea needs to pass their “Go Gauge”
How to fire someone with empathy and still tell them the truth
What to do when your startup fails and the investors vanish
Why the best startup strategy might be launching a pizza shop
Timestamped Chapters:
[00:00] Bacon, milkshakes, and a first meeting
[03:00] The Golf.com collapse and family betrayal
[07:30] The psychology of failure and the will not to quit
[12:00] Buddy Media’s pivot: from Facebook games to SaaS
[15:00] Why failure sucks—but trends are your friend
[21:00] Surviving marriage while surviving a startup
[26:00] Emotional awareness, therapy, and not “shining the turd”
[33:00] The $500M pizza truck startup fail
[38:00] The truth about hiring, firing, and reorganizing
[44:00] The death of venture capital—and rise of bootstrapping
[50:00] Investing in pets, ice cream, and par-3 golf
[54:00] Why Liquid Death is a billion-dollar brand
[57:00] The Go Gauge: 6 filters for a fundable idea
[01:02:00] Friendship, failure, and why they finally wrote the book
The James Altucher Show 
