Web Masters

Craig Kanarick, co-founder of Razorfish, tells the story of how he grew one of the first digital media agencies into a 1,200 person company with offices around the world.

Show Notes

There’s a good chance you haven’t heard of Craig Kanarick and Razorfish. But that’s only because you’re not reading this article in 1999.

Back in the late 90s, Kanarick and Razorfish were household names in the entrepreneurial world. Launched in 1994, Razorfish was one of the first digital media design agencies. Their early customers included mega-companies like Time Warner, KPMG, and Charles Schwab.

Razorfish was founded by Kanarick and his childhood friend, Jeff Dachis. In just five years, the two friends in their mid-20s grew Razorfish to 1,200+ employees, nearly a dozen offices around the world, almost $100m in annual revenue, and a successful IPO.

But, as Craig explains, that success had a price. He and his co-founder became the poster boys of late 90s, Internet tech excess and, ultimately, the failed dot-com boom and bust.

For a complete transcript of the episode, click here.

What is Web Masters?

Web Masters is an original podcast that explores the history of the Internet through the stories of some of its most important innovators. In each episode, host Aaron Dinin, a serial entrepreneur and digital media scholar, talks with Internet entrepreneurs who created important websites, tools, services, and features. Some are hugely popular, some you’ve never heard of, and all of them have impacted everything you do online. You’ll get a behind-the-scenes look at how the Internet has enabled -- and continues to create -- some of the greatest business opportunities in history from the people who have proven they know how to build successful Internet businesses.