Rapid Response: BuzzFeed’s Jonah Peretti: Record-high audience, record-low revenue

Masters of Scale

WaitWhat

Entrepreneurship, Business, Management, Reid Hoffman, Mindset, Diversity & Inclusion, Jeff Berman, Bob Safian, Startups

4.6 • 4.4K Ratings

🗓️ 6 June 2020

⏱️ 33 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

BuzzFeed audience is at record highs. But the pandemic's economic effects have crushed the bottom line. BuzzFeed co-founder and CEO Jonah Peretti shares how his company is making hard decisions to build long-term stability. “But the transition is painful,” he says. While BuzzFeed is leaning into food vertical Tasty, new e-commerce habits, and BuzzFeed News, he worries that businesses like his don't have more resources to support staffers of color. But, he says, there's a clarity of purpose in crisis, in bearing witness to the things that are happening in the world. Interviewed by editor Bob Safian.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi listeners, it's Chris Goethea, producer on Masters of Scale.
0:03.2	Quickly dropping in with an invitation for you to join us at an upcoming strategy session with Reed,
0:07.9	along with a few very special guests. During this live virtual event, you'll hear some game-changing
0:14.0	wisdom and insights that will help you make smart and financial decisions for your business.
0:18.4	So take a second to save the data in your calendar for Monday, May 8th at 3.30pm Pacific,
0:23.2	and register at mastersofscale.com forward slash strategy session to receive your link to join.
0:29.6	We'll be tackling some of the most top of mind questions for entrepreneurs,
0:32.8	with a special focus on how your business can thrive even amidst an economic downturn.
0:38.0	It's a really important topic, and you'll hear timely strategic insights that will help set you
0:42.8	and your business up for success. So go to mastersofscale.com forward slash strategy session
0:49.1	to register for free. Now on to the show.
0:52.7	The last few days have been really tough.
0:57.4	It feels like there's a lot of things we need to fix in our society and there's a lot of
1:00.9	challenges that we're all facing. It's putting pressure on our businesses, it's putting pressure
1:07.0	on our people, particularly on black employees and people who are having to deal with fighting for
1:14.3	their basic rights at the same time that they're trying to make a living and be productive as
1:19.2	employees and contributors in a company. We've seen tens of millions of dollars just evaporate
1:25.6	because our partners aren't digital businesses and are impacted. In the short term,
1:31.3	it really is hard, but in the long term, all these trends play to our strengths. E-commerce is a
1:37.4	strength, being a digital business is a strength, being a food brand is a strength, but the transition
1:44.0	is really painful. A nice thing about working at BuzzFeed is that no matter what happens in the world,
1:50.9	you get to be part of it, you get to have an impact.
	...

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