Ozy Media

Ozy Media was an American digital media and entertainment company founded in September 2013 by Carlos Watson and Samir Rao. Watson, a Harvard and Stanford Law School graduate with a background in journalism at CNN and MSNBC and business at McKinsey & Company and Goldman Sachs, served as CEO. Rao, who also worked at Goldman Sachs where he met Watson, acted as the COO. The company was established to deliver news and culture to a millennial audience through various platforms, targeting what it called the "Change Generation."

The business operated on a multi-platform model, creating original content that included a daily newsletter called 'The Daily Dose', digital articles, podcasts like 'The Thread', and television series. It produced shows for networks such as PBS, A&E, and the Oprah Winfrey Network, with its show "Black Women OWN the Conversation" winning an Emmy Award in 2020. A significant component of its brand was the OZY Fest, an annual event in New York featuring live music and discussions with prominent figures. Revenue was generated through advertising, content production deals with major networks, and live events. The company successfully raised over $70 million from investors, including Laurene Powell Jobs' Emerson Collective, Axel Springer, and Marc Lasry.

The company's trajectory was marked by significant controversy. In September 2021, reports emerged that COO Samir Rao had impersonated a YouTube executive during a conference call with Goldman Sachs in an attempt to secure a $40 million investment. This event triggered intense scrutiny and led to further allegations of the company inflating its audience metrics and financial figures to attract investors. Following these revelations, the company's board announced it would cease operations in October 2021, a decision Watson reversed days later. However, the damage led to federal investigations. In February 2023, Watson, Rao, and former chief of staff Suzee Han were charged by the SEC with defrauding investors of approximately $50 million. Rao and Han pleaded guilty and cooperated with prosecutors. In July 2024, a federal jury convicted both Ozy Media and Watson on multiple counts of fraud and identity theft, revealing a long-standing scheme of misrepresenting the company's financial health. The company ceased operations on March 1, 2023.

Keywords: digital media, news platform, content production, millennials, financial fraud, SEC investigation, media controversy, executive impersonation, startup collapse, Carlos Watson