The University of Tampa will welcome Michael DeLazzer, co-founder of Redbox, on Wednesday, April 1, to speak on “Thoughts are Things: How the idea of a DVD kiosk became Redbox.”
The event will be held in the Crescent Club on the ninth floor of the Vaughn Center, 401 W. Kennedy Blvd. Breakfast and networking begins at 7:30 a.m., and the program will start at 7:45 a.m.
DeLazzer is a serial entrepreneur who has been involved with eight startup ventures, most notably Redbox, LLC. Redbox has since become the largest video rental company in the world, with more than 45,000 locations in the U.S. and revenues exceeding $2 billion.
Building on past success in the DVD kiosk industry, in 2010 DeLazzer co-founded New Retail, LTC. This company is currently deploying a new platform of DVD rental machines in the United Kingdom under the Xtra-Vision brand. In 2014, he accepted the CEO position at Freeze Frame Tennis, which allows amateur tennis players to receive video stroke lessons from professional Grand Slam tennis coaches via a unique Web-based coaching tool.
In 2009, he was given a lifetime achievement award from the Collegiate Entrepreneur Organization for his work in supporting entrepreneurship globally.
The event is part of the Sykes College of Business Entrepreneurship Center Main Street Speaker Series and is sponsored by NorthStar Bank. UT students must pay a $5 reservation fee, which will be refunded upon attending. Tickets are free for UT faculty and staff, $15 for individuals and $150 for a table of eight (four seats go to sponsor a student). A corporate sponsorship is $500. RSVP by Monday, March 30.
For more information or to register, go to
2015MSSRedBox.eventbrite.com or contact James Zebrowski, staff assistant for the Entrepreneurship Center, at (813) 257-3039 or
jzebrowski@ut.edu.