Content Captains: Developing new-media programming to remember
Michael Wayne
Co-founder, president and CEO, DECA
Wayne launched his first startup, an English-language magazine in Prague, right out of college in 1995. He then helped build music site Launch.com, which raised $80 million in 2001 and was later bought by Yahoo. And since 2007, he’s raised $15 million for his digital entertainment startup that nurtures “organically grown Internet stars.” So far, he’s built seven properties, including Smosh, a teen site that’s the third most-watched YouTube channel of all time; Momversation, videos and blogs by moms; and Project Lore, dedicated to the popular online game World of Warcraft. “There is this idea that talent is based in L.A,” he says. “We feel that Internet talent is all over the world.”
Advertise on Digital Power 2009