Shoveling Shit: The Messy Truth of Entrepreneurship
Shoveling Shit: The Messy Truth of Entrepreneurship written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing
Episode Summary
About Mike and Kass Lazerow
Mike Lazerow is a veteran tech entrepreneur and investor, having founded several ventures including Buddy Media, which was acquired by Salesforce for $745 million. He currently co-leads Founders Farm and Velos Partners, investing in and mentoring early-stage companies.
Kass Lazerow is an expert operator and co-founder with a sharp eye for systems, scaling, and execution. She’s worked side-by-side with Mike for over two decades. Together, they’ve supported nearly 100 startups and contributed to over $10 billion in realized gains.
Learn more about their work at shovelingshit.com.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode
- Why entrepreneurship is more about daily failure than sudden wins
- The “imbalanced life” framework and why work-life balance is a myth
- How Mike and Kass divide roles in business and marriage
- The role of transparency and communication in leading teams
- Key cheat codes from the book that every entrepreneur should know
- When to pivot and how to use metrics (and your gut) to decide
- How embracing uncertainty becomes a competitive advantage
- What legacy looks like for entrepreneurs focused on impact
Key Moments from the Episode
- 00:47 – Why “Shoveling Shit” was the right title for their book
- 02:12 – How their strengths as co-founders (and spouses) complement each other
- 04:24 – The imbalanced life: choosing obsession over balance
- 06:06 – Parenting while building businesses: honest trade-offs
- 08:31 – Mike’s favorite cheat code: ruthless prioritization
- 09:36 – Kass’s favorite cheat code: transparent leadership
- 10:45 – The importance of learning to thrive inside uncertainty
- 13:02 – Lessons from the dot-com crash and losing it all
- 14:56 – The cost of poor co-founder alignment
- 16:27 – How investors guide pivots through better questions
- 18:26 – Revisiting success metrics to know when change is needed
- 19:31 – What legacy means to Mike and Kass
- 21:31 – Where to find the book and connect with them online
Explore the Real Story of Entrepreneurship
Want a gritty, heartfelt look into what it takes to build something real? Pick up Shoveling Shit: A Love Story and explore tools, stories, and frameworks to help you succeed in both business and life.
Shoveling Shit: The Messy Truth of Entrepreneurship written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing Listen to the full episode: Episode Summary In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, host John Jantsch sits down with Mike and Kass Lazerow—seasoned entrepreneurs, investors, and authors of the bold new book Shoveling Shit: A…