Sarah Lacy
Born 1975 · Age 50
American technology journalist, author, speaker and serial entrepreneur; founder of PandoDaily and Chairman Mom; three-time author; co-owner of The Best Bookstore in Palm Springs.
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Life & Career Timeline
Graduated BA in Literature from Rhodes College (approx.)
Received a B.A. in literature from Rhodes College. (Graduation year not specified in sources; estimate based on birth year.)
Early journalism career (business/technology reporting)
Worked as a technology/business journalist leading to later roles at BusinessWeek and Yahoo!. Exact early employer dates not fully specified in public sources.
Frequent television appearances and media commentary
Made numerous TV and radio appearances (e.g., Bloomberg, Today Show, CBS This Morning) as a technology/business commentator across these years; exact dates vary by appearance.
Co-founding co-host of Yahoo! Tech Ticker (documented)
Co-hosted the web video show Yahoo! Tech Ticker (TechTicker).
Published 'Once You're Lucky, Twice You're Good'
Released her first major book about Web 2.0 and the founders of companies like Facebook and MySpace. Also published under the title 'The Facebook Story'.
Staff writer / columnist at BusinessWeek (documented)
Listed as a columnist/staff writer at BusinessWeek; cited in BusinessWeek coverage of Facebook in March 2008.
Published 'Brilliant, Crazy, Cocky'
Published her second book profiling entrepreneurs globally ('Brilliant, Crazy, Cocky: How the Top 1% of Entrepreneurs Profit from Global Chaos').
Left TechCrunch / posted 'The TechCrunch Drama Continues'
Posted about the TechCrunch drama on her blog Predictably Rabid and left TechCrunch (was a columnist/senior editor at TechCrunch up to this point).
Predictably Rabid blog post: 'The TechCrunch Drama Continues'
Authored a widely-read blog post about internal conflict at TechCrunch on her personal blog (timestamped Nov 19, 2011).
PandoDaily raised reported $2.5M seed funding
PandoDaily launched with a reported $2.5 million investment from investors that included Marc Andreessen, Peter Thiel, Tony Hsieh, David Sze, Jim Breyer, Reid Hoffman, Chris Dixon and Josh Kopelman.
Launched PandoMonthly event series
PandoDaily included a monthly event series titled 'PandoMonthly' as part of its content and community strategy.
Event dispute / internal emails controversy (Cross Campus)
Emails from 2012 surfaced indicating Lacy was involved in a dispute regarding a PandoDaily-hosted event at Cross Campus in Los Angeles; publicized in Valleywag/others in 2013.
Named one of Forbes' top 20 most influential businesswomen
Forbes named Sarah Lacy one of the top 20 most influential businesswomen in the world.
Founded PandoDaily (Pando Media)
Launched technology news site PandoDaily (Pando), a daily tech blog and events business (PandoMonthly).
Published Pando post deleting Uber from phone
Wrote a PandoDaily post describing Uber's culture and announced she had deleted Uber from her phone after reporting on misogynistic practices at the company.
Uber exec Emil Michael suggested a smear campaign against journalists including Lacy
Allegations published that an Uber executive suggested hiring opposition researchers and spending $1 million to dig up dirt and smear critics including Sarah Lacy after PandoDaily criticism.
Published 'A Uterus Is A Feature, Not A Bug'
Released her third book, a memoir/manifesto focused on working women and motherhood.
Chairman Mom grows to serve thousands (milestone)
Chairman Mom attracted a significant user base (sources reference 'tens of thousands' of working women engaged though exact dates and numbers are not precisely stated).
Co-founded Chairman Mom (ChairmanMe)
Launched Chairman Mom, a subscription-based Q&A and community platform for working mothers (later referenced as ChairmanMe in some sources).
Sold PandoDaily to BuySellAds and quit journalism
Announced sale of PandoDaily to BuySellAds (reported Oct 23, 2019) and cited harassment, threats, and betrayal in Silicon Valley as reasons for leaving the industry.
Moved from San Francisco to Palm Springs
Relocated to Palm Springs after exiting Pando and journalism; cited safety and family reasons (including a safer environment for her transgender daughter).
Launched Best Bookstore online concierge (SMS) discovery
Introduced a text-message based concierge service (1-877-822-1779) to offer book recommendations and ordering; discovery and planning noted in summer 2022.
Co-founded The Best Bookstore in Palm Springs (planning / discovery)
With partner Paul Bradley Carr, began planning and founding The Best Bookstore in Palm Springs; sources note the pair discovered a market gap in summer 2022 and moved to open a local independent bookstore.
Opened/Launched The Best Bookstore in Palm Springs (founders)
Lacy and partner opened a 1,025-square-foot independent bookstore in downtown Palm Springs — catalogued as over 30,000 titles in inventory (reported founding in late 2022).
Best Bookstore first-year revenue milestone: $1,000,000
The Best Bookstore in Palm Springs reportedly generated approximately $1M in revenue in its first year of operation.
Continuing speaking, consulting and collaborative writing work
After leaving daily journalism, Lacy worked as a collaborative writer, story consultant for Silicon Valley figures and continued to appear as a keynote speaker and media commentator.
Launched Palm Springs Readers' Festival (inaugural)
Co-created and launched the Palm Springs Readers' Festival; first event wrapped successfully in early 2024 (reported).
Public speaker profile fee range published/updated
AAE Speakers Bureau profile lists Sarah Lacy's live speaking fee range at $20,000–$30,000 and virtual events at $10,000–$20,000 (profile listing last updated 22 May 2025).
Continued public profile as author, entrepreneur and bookstore co-owner
Ongoing public profile includes authorship of three books, founding Pando and Chairman Mom, and operation of an independent bookstore with community programming.
Key Achievement Ages
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