'Metro

Group On

A business mogul returns to his Tamarack roots.

Art Aisner
Special to the Jewish News

S

end a child to Tamarack and
he or she may become a busi-
ness mogul, bold and promising
enough to turn away a $6 billion buyout
offer and emerge as one of the most inno-
vative e-commerce minds on the planet.
That may not be the message Eric
Lefkofsky brings to the third annual
"Send a Kid to Tamarack" patron event
at 7 p.m. Sunday, April 17, at the Jewish
Community Center's new Berman Center
for the Performing Arts. But if anyone
can speak to the subject with some
authority, it's he.
Lefkofsky, 41, is a serial venture capi-
talist and is considered white hot right
now for the unprecedented success his
recent investments have had, both in
terms of generating roughly $1 billion in
evenue and changing how people think
about advertising. Groupon, the Chicago-
based social coupon Web site that offers
geographically targeted daily deals,
reported more than $760 million in sales
last year. Subscriptions exploded from 3
million to 50 million in 2010 alone, and
there are now believed to be more than
70 million subscribers globally.
Just two years old, the company has
been dubbed the fastest-growing startup
business in history.
Lefkofsky only added to the company's
and his own aura in December by turn-
ing down an unfathomable $6 billion
acquisition offer from Google. The move
may indeed pay off. Reports surfaced in
March that Lefkofsky may help Groupon
go public, a feat speculated to be worth
between $15 billion and $25 billion.
The Southfield native is already no
stranger to the Forbes 400 list and has
a net worth estimated at $1.6 billion,
according to the magazine.
How he did it, what he intends to do
next and his recollections of growing up
in Metro Detroit's Jewish community are
all elements that make the April 17 event
intriguing and unique, said Lee Trepeck,
director of Camp Maas in Ortonville.
"Eric Lefkofsky is at the center of
several very important and newsworthy
developments in business, and his con-
nection to camp made this a great fit,"
Trepeck said. "The thought that someone
who grew up on our campground and

12A pill 7 2011

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went on to make such a big impact is
very cool."
One wouldn't expect Lefkofsky to say
he developed his penchant for investing
while marching campers from villages
to beachfront or on multi-day canoe
trips as a Tamarack counselor. But he
does recognize the impact his Tamarack
experiences had on his own personal
development.
"I really appreciate the personal growth
I experienced as a camper and staffer:'
Lefkofsky wrote to Tamarack officials
after accepting the speaking engagement.
"Amidst fun-filled days, my first lessons
in leadership began with my role as a
counselor, encouraging independence and
team spirit among my campers."
The statement resonates with many
Tamarack alums and reflects part of the
attraction to Lefkofsky as camp officials
brainstormed how to maximize the fund-
raiser's reach this year, Trepeck said. Unlike
previous years when speakers were local
honorees or long-time donors, Lefkofsky
is a sought-after speaker on the national
scale and was an easy pick for organizers
eager to do something different.
Relying on the personal friendships
Lefkofsky sustained within the local
Jewish community and fellow University
of Michigan alumni, planners said he
committed early.
They hope Lefkofsky's notoriety also
helps complete their mission of grant-
ing children a Jewish camp experience
regardless of the ability to pay. That's
been a constant throughout Tamarack's
109-year history and remains a challenge
in Michigan's current economy, said
Deena Lockman, Tamarack's director
of development. More than 500 camp-
ers benefited from the Send A Kid To
Tamarack program in 2010, and roughly
half of enrolled campers requested
financial aid for this season. In 2010,
Tamarack had 1,267 campers.
"Camp is about providing opportuni-
ties to grow intellectually, creatively and
spiritually:' said Trepeck, "and it provides
this platform where talents can shine. A
lot of future success is bred at camp."

Success No Surprise
Though the meteoric rise of Groupon
— which Lefkofsky co-founded with
fellow Metro Detroiter Brad Keywell —
represented a seismic shockwave in the

"The thought that
someone who grew up
on our campground
and went on to make
such a big impact is
very cool."

— Lee Trepeck

Eric Lefkofsky

business world, Lefkofsky's success is no
surprise to former classmates.
"He's always been an entrepreneur, and
he was the only college student I knew
that had his own office for business pur-
poses:' said friend, fraternity brother and
former Ann Arbor housemate Joe Lash of
Huntington Woods.
"You knew where he was going, and
when he started having major success in
business it was not a surprise to anyone
who knew him:"
Lash, now a member of Tamarack's
board of directors, is still amazed how
Lefkofsky and fellow roommate Noah
Siegel used carpet remnants from Siegel's
father's business to build a small monop-
oly on several college campuses. By their
senior year, they had contracts with four
Big Ten universities and the University of
Notre Dame to outfit dorm room floors.
After the success of the carpet busi-
ness and earning a degree from U-M Law
School, Lefkofsky and Keywell started mul-
tiple businesses that didn't last — until
they gravitated toward a tech-based busi-
ness model in 1999. Five technology-relat-
ed startups followed, including Groupon.
Now, as co-founder of Lightbank, a
venture fund that specializes in building
tech companies, Lefkofsky is reportedly
looking for new ways to change the mar-
ketplace. And he doesn't want to do it far
from his old roots in Detroit and new
ones in Chicago. Earlier this year, he and
Keywell announced ambitious plans to
invest $100 million in startup companies
based in the Midwest.
In addition to his business ventures,
Lefkofsky is an adjunct professor on
entrepreneurship and technology-based

businesses at the University of Chicago.
He and wife Liz are heavily involved
in the Lefkofsky Family Foundation, a
charitable trust that benefits nonprofit,
scientific, civic and educational organiza-
tions around the world. E

For reservations or information on
Send A Kid To Tamarack, contact
(248) 647-1100 or tamarackcamps.
corm

Film Stars To Be
At JARC Screening
Actress Kim Cattrall and producer
Gary Gilbert will attend an exclu-
sive pre-screening of Meet Monica
Velour to benefit JARC 7 p.m.
Tuesday, April 12, at the Uptown
Palladium, Birmingham. The film will
be followed by a question-and-answer
session with Cattrall, Gilbert, writer/
director Keith Bearden and co-star
Dustin Ingram.
An exclusive afterglow with Cattrall
ill follow at the Onyx Lounge of Chen
Chow Restaurant in Birmingham.
Tickets are $150 and include
reserved theater seating, afterglow
cocktails and appetizers (kosher
option available). General admission
tickets are $50.
To reserve tickets, call (248) 538-
6610, ext. 314, or e-mail
renafriedberg@jarc.org .