Masters of Scale

Rapid Response: How BuzzFeed bounced back, w/Jonah Peretti

Jul 8, 2021

Jonah Peretti, co-founder and CEO of BuzzFeed, shares insights on the company's agile response to pandemic challenges. He reveals how BuzzFeed engineered a remarkable turnaround to achieve record profitability, even amidst significant revenue drops. Peretti discusses the importance of balancing data-driven strategies with creativity to engage diverse audiences, particularly Millennials and Gen Z. He also highlights BuzzFeed's ambitions with recent acquisitions, such as HuffPost, and plans to go public, showcasing the future of digital media.

28:01

Episode guests

Jonah Peretti

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Intro

3min

BuzzFeed's Resilience: Navigating Pandemic Challenges

10min

Balancing Data and Creativity

6min

Adapting BuzzFeed News: Culture and Challenges

9min

Commitment and Innovation in Entrepreneurship

5min

Millennials and Gen Z want different experiences, different content, different opportunities. But catering to those distinct needs wasn't enough, says BuzzFeed co-founder and CEO Jonah Peretti; the digital-media outfit also needed to create a flywheel for value. When the pandemic trimmed tens of millions in revenue, Peretti cut back on costs – but kept the flywheel spinning. By the end of 2020 his team had engineered a rebound, finishing the year with record profitability. Now, the company has announced plans to go public via SPAC at a $1.5 billion valuation. With the acquisitions of HuffPost and Complex Networks, Peretti has shown that his ambitions are just beginning.

Read a transcript of this interview at: mastersofscale.com

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