Zuck turned down our pitch, changed his mind, and we made $745 mil
Jan 21, 2025
auto_awesome
In this engaging conversation, Mike and Kass Lazerow, serial entrepreneurs behind Golf.com and Buddy Media, share their fascinating journey from pitching early Facebook to mastering social media marketing. They discuss innovative strategies that revolutionized brand engagements and the powerful lessons from their successful exit to Salesforce for $745 million. The duo also touches on the importance of mentorship, overcoming entrepreneurial distractions, and their transition into content creation, offering valuable insights for aspiring entrepreneurs.
Mike and Kass Lazerow initially faced resistance from Mark Zuckerberg, highlighting the challenging early days of monetizing Facebook for advertisers.
Buddy Media's unique software solutions enabled brands to effectively reach targeted demographics on Facebook, revolutionizing social media marketing.
The founders emphasized the importance of mental health and supportive cultures in entrepreneurship, sharing personal insights in their upcoming book.
Deep dives
The Early Days with Facebook
The discussion highlights the initial resistance from Mark Zuckerberg regarding advertisers on Facebook, illustrating a time when the platform was not yet the social media giant it is today. During a meeting at the second F8 developer conference, Zuckerberg appeared focused on growing the network rather than monetizing it through advertising. The founders of Buddy Media recognized the potential of Facebook as a marketing platform and dedicated themselves to onboarding brands despite Zuckerberg's initial skepticism. Their encounters reveal the transformation of Facebook from a startup into a global entity, and the excitement of working at the forefront of social media during its formative days.
Buddy Media's Role in Advertising
Buddy Media was established as a software platform designed to enable brands to reach customers through Facebook effectively. The founders provided tools that allowed companies like Unilever to campaign across multiple languages and locations, targeting specific demographics. The innovative approach of delivering targeted content and ads based on location and interests set Buddy Media apart from conventional methods. As they onboarded major brands, Buddy Media became an essential part of the advertising ecosystem that emerged with social media.
Strategic Brand Partnerships and Events
The founders discussed their proactive approach to securing partnerships and promoting Buddy Media through various events. With limited marketing budgets, they utilized creative strategies to gain visibility, such as sponsoring coffee cups and event goodie bags, ensuring their branding reached potential clients. They emphasized the importance of persistence in negotiations, turning even small sponsorships into comprehensive partnerships. This innovative mindset helped them establish thought leadership and expand their network within the marketing community.
Embracing Content Creation
The transition to creating daily content on social media represented a personal and professional growth opportunity for the founders. They acknowledged the discomfort of learning to engage audiences through consistent video content while emphasizing the importance of authenticity in their messaging. By pursuing this content strategy, they aim to share their insights and support entrepreneurs navigating similar challenges. Their realization that consistent effort in content creation can yield long-term results reflects their entrepreneurial ethos and commitment to providing value.
Navigating Entrepreneurship and Mental Health
A significant aspect of their conversation revolved around the mental health challenges often faced by entrepreneurs. They discussed the sacrifices made in relationships and personal well-being while pursuing business success. The founders acknowledged the need to foster a supportive culture as they grow and pivot their businesses. Ultimately, they aim to share their experiences in their upcoming book to help others navigate both the highs and lows of the entrepreneurial journey.
E566: Mike and Kass Lazerow are serial entrepreneurs and investors best known as the cofounders of Golf.com and Buddy Media, the leading social media marketing platform that sold to Salesforce for $745 million.
With a lifetime of stories from decades of building, Mike and Kass have supported close to 100 early-stage startup founders.
They served as angel investors and advisors to Scopely, which sold to Savvy Games for $5 billion in 2022, and Liquid Death, the canned water company whose “evil mission” is to make people laugh and drink healthy beverages, all while reducing plastic pollution.
They’re also early investors and advisors to Meta, early investors in Tumblr, and Gary Vaynerchuk created VaynerMedia in their conference room.
They have recently written a book called: Shoveling Sh!t: A Love Story About the Entrepreneur’s Messy Path to Success which you can pre-order at www.shovelingshit.com.
00:00 Pitching Mark Zuckerberg: The Early Days of Facebook 02:31 Building Buddy Media: The First Social Media Management Platform 06:16 Innovative Marketing Strategies for Startups 11:27 Compact Keywords 13:00 Their Crazy Business Relationships 18:46 Company Culture 34:55 Golf.com and Early Ventures 38:44 A New Business Idea 41:14 Facebook’s Game-Changing Decision 41:42 Buddy Media's Rise and Salesforce Acquisition 42:11 Negotiation with Salesforce 45:46 Impact of Facebook's IPO on the Deal 46:39 Life at Salesforce Post-Acquisition 51:25 Angel Investing Adventures 53:02 Lessons from Successes and Failures 56:21 Mental Health Crisis Among Entrepreneurs 01:00:01 Focus and Avoiding Shiny Object Syndrome 01:10:45 Being Competitive 01:12:59 Content and Social Media Insights 01:17:39 Conclusion and Final Thoughts