More than most other entrepreneurs, BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti has been the trendsetter of the past decade in digital media. Now, he is learning what it takes to build a sustainable media business.
Interviews with more than two dozen people involved in BuzzFeed provide an inside look at how the company founder preferred to study how people shared articles and videos in the internet age than concentrate on making money, sometimes frustrating employees and investors. People close to him say that focus reflected the cerebral personality of Mr. Peretti, who was far more interested in experimentation and big ideas than in short-term profits.
