sponsored by

 

with support from

 
“As we host 100+ events a year at Work-Bench, I know how much goes on behind such a well-produced event, end to end—organized comms, beautiful venue, and most important of all—high-quality founders, companies, really thoughtful content and speakers who spoke openly and honestly about what it means to start and scale a company. I even met one of our Work-Bench founders sitting next to her at this event. Cannot recommend this Summit enough!”
— Jessica Lin, General Parter (Work-Bench)

investors

SPEAKERS

Kass and Mike Lazerow, cofounders of Golf.com and Buddy Media, which Salesforce bought for $745 million, and early investors in startups that have generated more than $10 billion in realized gains.

Kass and Mike 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.

After selling Golf.com to Time Warner in 2006, Mike and Kass cofounded Buddy Media. Since selling Buddy Media to Salesforce in 2012, they have focused on providing capital and advice to the world’s most innovative founders.

Kass and Mike 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 get more of them to drink healthy beverages more often, all while helping to kill plastic pollution.

Mike was named New York’s Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year®, and together they were ranked No. 1 on Business Insider’s Silicon Alley 100. They also received the Cycle for Survival Game Changer Award for their leadership in helping to raise $375 million for cancer research and were recognized with the Leader of the Future Award from the Frances Hesselbein Leadership Institute.

Kass and Mike live in New York City and the Hudson Valley and have three grown children (Myles, Cole, and Vivian) and two rescue dogs (Cece and Gizmo).

“I learned a ton about the VC fundraising process, and met incredibly talented founders and investors. ”
— Annabel Lawee, Founder
“One of the best formats I’ve been to!”
— Tyler Forte, Founder

Schedule of Events

8:30-9:00 Breakfast and check-in

9:00-9:10 Introduction

9:10-9:50 Panel 1: What's an A today?

9:50-10:30 Small Groups: Open Questions on Fundraising Strategy

10:30-10:40:

10:40-10:50 Break

10:50-10:55 Sponsor Segment: Propeller

10:55-11:35 Panel 2: Projections and Hockey Sticks

11:35-12:15 Small Groups: Role Reversal Exercise

12:15-1:00 Lunch

1:00-1:40 Panel 3: Setting Pre-A Goals & Priorities

1:40-2:20 Small Groups: Environment and Cycle Discussion

2:20-2:30 Break

2:30-3:15 Founder Interview: Mike & Kass Lazerow

3:15-4:00 Panel 4: Filling Your Funnel and Pre-Raise Prep

4:00 Event Close

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