What’s it really like to build a billion-dollar business with your spouse, and live to tell the story? In this special live episode, David Politis sits down with Kass and Mike Lazerow, Co-Founders of Buddy Media and authors of Shoveling $H!T: A Love Story About an Entrepreneur’s Messy Path to Success..

They open up about building cult-like culture, radical transparency, co-founder dynamics, fundraising strategies, pivots, parenting, and everything in between. With humor and honesty, the Lazerows share the unvarnished truth of what it takes to build something meaningful, and survive the chaos along the way.

Takeaways:

• Building a Cult-like Culture with Intentionality: Kass shares how she focused on creating a high-trust, high-engagement company culture through rituals, transparency, shared values, and even handwritten birthday cards. The foundation was purpose-driven work, and a lot of cupcakes.
• Radical Focus as a Leadership Imperative: Mike emphasizes the importance of choosing just 3–5 core priorities each quarter and communicating them relentlessly. He admits that his natural state is distraction, and that focus, both personal and organizational, is what drives growth.
• Fundraising Is a Relationship Business: Mike describes how he built trust with investors over time by sending updates, even to people who said no, and treating everyone with respect, from analysts to GPs. He reframes fundraising as offering a great opportunity, not asking for a favor.
• The Power (and Pain) of Pivoting: The Lazerows recount the early missteps at Buddy Media, from virtual currency to raffles, before landing on a scalable SaaS product. They stress the importance of cutting old lines of business fast and committing fully to what’s next.
• Marriage and Co-Founding: They describe co-founding as an intense version of marriage, with shared values, relentless communication, and radical honesty. Kass encourages couples to embrace their lanes and support each other’s growth, both professionally and personally.
• Startups and Parenting Don’t Balance, But They Can Work: Kass shares how they intentionally deprioritized social commitments and accepted imperfection at home to build their company. She encourages other founder-parents to aim for 80%, not perfection, and to give themselves grace.

Quote of the Show:

• "Being a founder, there’s no worse way to spend your day. And it’s awesome, right?" - Mike Lazerow

Links:

• Kass’ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kasslazerow/
• Mike’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lazerow/
• Get Their Book: https://shovelingshit.com/

Ways to Tune In:

• Substack: https://notanotherceo.substack.com/
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1NQ9oAB2XKlgWeL8iEQXg0
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/not-another-ceo-podcast/id1751581707
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NotAnotherCEOPodcast
• Transistor: https://podcast.notanotherceo.com/

#NotAnotherCEO #BusinessSuccess #Shoveling$H!T

Chapters:

00:00 Intro

00:46 Podcast Journey and Growth

01:41 Acknowledging Sponsors and Supporters

03:56 Introducing Cass and Mike Lazaro

05:33 Building Buddy Media: Key Strategies and Insights

08:19 Challenges and Successes in Leadership

14:09 The Importance of Transparency

15:19 Husband-Wife Co-Founders: A Unique Dynamic

20:09 Fundraising and Building Relationships

27:46 Marketing and Branding Strategies

34:09 Thought Leadership and Public Speaking

36:36 Navigating Business Pivots

38:25 The Birth of Buddy Media

40:31 Challenges and Successes of Custom Apps

45:20 Balancing Family and Business

48:50 Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

54:58 Building a Positive Company Culture

01:02:21 Q&A with the Audience

01:11:11 Outro