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Gregg Latterman
Gregg Latterman is an American entrepreneur, academic, and angel investor. The founder of Aware Records, he teaches "Positive Entrepreneurship: Profits and Meaning" at Northwestern University, and lectures on innovation and entrepreneurship at the Kellogg School of Management.
A passionate music fan, Latterman put together a compilation CD of his favorite unsigned bands in 1993. He released it on his own label, and quit his job as a CPA on the day it came out. The label, Aware, became "one of the most durable and influential independent forces in music," with Latterman helping to launch the careers of artists including John Mayer, Train, Mat Kearney, Hootie & The Blowfish, and Five For Fighting.
In 2012, after more than 25 million records were sold on Aware, Latterman decided to return to school. He attended the University of Pennsylvania, and earned a master's degree in positive psychology under Martin Seligman. In 2014 he began teaching at Northwestern, where his classes examine work ethics, talent, and entrepreneurial drive, and encourage students to integrate their passions and values into their professions.
Latterman was raised in East Lansing, Michigan. The son of a lawyer and a teacher, he snow skied and water skied throughout his childhood, and competed in both in high school and college. A music fan, he made mixtapes for friends, who would in return send him CDs by independent bands. Latterman was also interested in business, and read magazines such as Forbes and Business Week as a teenager.
Latterman attended Northern Michigan University on a partial athletic scholarship. He transferred to Michigan State in 1987 and graduated in 1990 with a degree in accounting. In 1996, Latterman received an MBA in marketing from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, and in 2013 earned a master's degree in Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania.
After receiving his accounting degree, Latterman moved to Boston. He worked as a CPA at Coopers & Lybrand, a job he actively disliked, leading him to apply to MBA programs. He made mixtapes of unsigned bands who had developed a local following, selecting his favorite songs, and in early 1993 decided to produce a compilation album. Based on his own experience, he thought people from one city or state would buy a record to hear bands they already knew, and would be introduced to bands from other areas. Latterman learned the mechanics of making a CD and took out a $10,000 loan, and in 1993, working out of his apartment, he founded Madaket Records and put together Aware 1, a compilation CD of unsigned artists. On the day the album was released, he quit his job and moved to Vail, Colorado, where he coached the Vail Mountain ski team and developed strategies to promote the CD. Peter Margasak of the Chicago Reader later wrote that Latterman "knew little about the music industry when he came to it, but instead of dutifully learning and following its protocols, he developed his own."
Latterman gave the bands included on the compilation posters and copies of the album, which they sold on tour, and gave free CDs and posters to retailers as an incentive. He created an Aware store, which first sold albums directly to consumers through an 800 number, and later at retail outlets through a national distributor. Among other marketing efforts, he built grassroots campaigns through street teams and bought targeted local advertising. Aware 1 ultimately sold more than 30,000 albums, and Latterman began working on a second compilation, changing the name of the label to Aware.
As he prepared to release Aware 2, Latterman was accepted to the MBA program at Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management. He moved to Evanston, Illinois, and as a full-time student, he continued to build Aware Records. Aware 2, released in 1995, featured songs from artists who would go on to achieve significant success, including Better Than Ezra, The Verve Pipe, Vertical Horizon, Hootie & the Blowfish, and the Edwin McCain Band. Latterman became known for his ability to find and develop unsigned bands; within the music industry, an appearance on an Aware compilation was a "seal of approval, signifying an act worth pursuing."
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Gregg Latterman
Gregg Latterman is an American entrepreneur, academic, and angel investor. The founder of Aware Records, he teaches "Positive Entrepreneurship: Profits and Meaning" at Northwestern University, and lectures on innovation and entrepreneurship at the Kellogg School of Management.
A passionate music fan, Latterman put together a compilation CD of his favorite unsigned bands in 1993. He released it on his own label, and quit his job as a CPA on the day it came out. The label, Aware, became "one of the most durable and influential independent forces in music," with Latterman helping to launch the careers of artists including John Mayer, Train, Mat Kearney, Hootie & The Blowfish, and Five For Fighting.
In 2012, after more than 25 million records were sold on Aware, Latterman decided to return to school. He attended the University of Pennsylvania, and earned a master's degree in positive psychology under Martin Seligman. In 2014 he began teaching at Northwestern, where his classes examine work ethics, talent, and entrepreneurial drive, and encourage students to integrate their passions and values into their professions.
Latterman was raised in East Lansing, Michigan. The son of a lawyer and a teacher, he snow skied and water skied throughout his childhood, and competed in both in high school and college. A music fan, he made mixtapes for friends, who would in return send him CDs by independent bands. Latterman was also interested in business, and read magazines such as Forbes and Business Week as a teenager.
Latterman attended Northern Michigan University on a partial athletic scholarship. He transferred to Michigan State in 1987 and graduated in 1990 with a degree in accounting. In 1996, Latterman received an MBA in marketing from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, and in 2013 earned a master's degree in Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania.
After receiving his accounting degree, Latterman moved to Boston. He worked as a CPA at Coopers & Lybrand, a job he actively disliked, leading him to apply to MBA programs. He made mixtapes of unsigned bands who had developed a local following, selecting his favorite songs, and in early 1993 decided to produce a compilation album. Based on his own experience, he thought people from one city or state would buy a record to hear bands they already knew, and would be introduced to bands from other areas. Latterman learned the mechanics of making a CD and took out a $10,000 loan, and in 1993, working out of his apartment, he founded Madaket Records and put together Aware 1, a compilation CD of unsigned artists. On the day the album was released, he quit his job and moved to Vail, Colorado, where he coached the Vail Mountain ski team and developed strategies to promote the CD. Peter Margasak of the Chicago Reader later wrote that Latterman "knew little about the music industry when he came to it, but instead of dutifully learning and following its protocols, he developed his own."
Latterman gave the bands included on the compilation posters and copies of the album, which they sold on tour, and gave free CDs and posters to retailers as an incentive. He created an Aware store, which first sold albums directly to consumers through an 800 number, and later at retail outlets through a national distributor. Among other marketing efforts, he built grassroots campaigns through street teams and bought targeted local advertising. Aware 1 ultimately sold more than 30,000 albums, and Latterman began working on a second compilation, changing the name of the label to Aware.
As he prepared to release Aware 2, Latterman was accepted to the MBA program at Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management. He moved to Evanston, Illinois, and as a full-time student, he continued to build Aware Records. Aware 2, released in 1995, featured songs from artists who would go on to achieve significant success, including Better Than Ezra, The Verve Pipe, Vertical Horizon, Hootie & the Blowfish, and the Edwin McCain Band. Latterman became known for his ability to find and develop unsigned bands; within the music industry, an appearance on an Aware compilation was a "seal of approval, signifying an act worth pursuing."