Couple lost Rs 21 lakh when their startup failed. 6 years later, they sold it for Rs 209 crore

Looking back, the couple said their decision to start over was driven by 'a tolerance to suffer' and a refusal to settle for traditional jobs. (AI generated image)

A startup failure in 2000 wiped out New Yorkers Mike and Kass Lazerow’s life savings of $25,000 (about Rs 21 lakh). Six years later, they sold the same company for $24 million (about Rs 209 crore).

The couple, then newly married, had sold their golf score-tracking startup Golf.com to a fast-growing e-commerce firm, Chipshot, in a cash-and-stock deal. But when a funding round for Chipshot collapsed, the company went bankrupt—taking Golf.com down with it, CNBC Make It reported.

“We had sold the business,” Mike, now 51, told the publication. “So we had employees who weren’t going to get paid.”

The Lazerows, who had stayed on to manage Golf.com post-acquisition, lost not just their savings but also the investments of friends and family. “I was angry,” Kass, now 54, said. “What really sucked was having to tell people their money was gone.”

Within three months, the couple raised new funds and bought back Golf.com for $500,000 (about Rs 4,3 crore). “I just could not take this loss,” Kass said. “I knew immediately I wanted to try to redo it and start over.”

For two years, the company struggled. At one point, it was down to four people. But as Tiger Woods’s back-to-back Masters wins in 2001 and 2002 drew advertisers to the golf market, Golf.com gained traction.

In 2006, Time Inc.—publisher of Golf Magazine—acquired Golf.com for $24 million (about Rs 209 crore). Each of the three co-founders, including Mike and Kass, received $1.8 million (About Rs 15.7 crore).

Looking back, Kass said their decision to start over was driven by “a tolerance to suffer” and a refusal to settle for traditional jobs. The couple later sold their next company, Buddy Media, for $745 million (about Rs 6,508 crore), in 2012.

“We start things because it’s where we find our purpose,” Mike said. “The best founders learn to love the misery, the suffering.”