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After starting two iconic music venues and surviving the dot-com bust, Michael Dorf offers gripping stories and hard-earned business lessons with a contrarian twist. As technology becomes more deeply woven into our lives, the key to success can be found in satisfying people's yearning for live human interaction. "Simply put, Michael Dorf is a true hustler. When the internet upended the music business, he wasn't romantic about the way things were done and like any great entrepreneur, focused on what's happening today. It has been fun for me to watch Michael operate in this ever-changing world. There is a lot that can be learned from this man." - Gary Vaynerchuk, Founder and CEO, VaynerMedia; and author, Crushing ItAs founder of the iconic Knitting Factory music venue in New York, Michael Dorf became one of the earliest pioneers of digital music in the 1990s and found himself addicted to the seductive promise of the Internet.



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Michael Dorf

Michael Dorf was born and raised in Milwaukee, WI. After studying Psychology and Business at Washington University, he founded New York City's go-to venue for independent music, the Knitting Factory, in 1986.As Knitting Factory Chairman and CEO, Dorf helped bring the concert house to global prominence by expanding into Europe and Asia via tours, branded festivals, and record production and sales. Dorf was recognized as a pioneer in producing music on the Internet, through a variety of strategic relationships with Apple Computer, Intel, MCI, and Bell Atlantic. During his Knitting Factory tenure, he produced over 200 recordings, a television series, and built a new venue in Los Angeles. In 2002, he left his operating responsibilities and sold his equity position to pursue other endeavors, including a Carnegie Hall concert fundraiser series, founding a Hebrew school, and winemaking.By 2008, Dorf had conceptualized a venue that brought his love for both the making and enjoyment of wine under one roof and created City Winery-Manhattan's first fully-functional winery, restaurant, music venue and private event space. City Winery offers a wide selection of wines, exquisite cuisine and intimate performances from iconic performers.Dorf expanded his company in 2012 with the opening of City Winery Chicago. Subsequent years have brought new venues to Nashville, Atlanta, Boston, and Washington DC, with Hudson Valley and Philadelphia stated to open in 2019. Dorf has become one of the most prolific independent promoters in New York, an important music impresario, and according the The New Yorker, he has "perfected the art of the tribute concert." Over 13 years, the fundraiser series has honored legends like Aretha Franklin, Leonard Cohen, and Prince while raising over $1.5 million for such music education programs as the American Symphony Orchestra's Music Notes, Church Street School for Music and Art, Young Audiences New York, Fixing Instruments for Kids in Schools, Little Kids Rock and the Center for Arts Education. Dorf also has very strong ties to the Jewish Community. He created Tribeca Hebrew, an after-school program in Lower Manhattan and developed the school to 150 children before it merged with JCP in 2009. He serves on the board of The Jewish Week, American Symphony Orchestra, Newport Folk and Jazz Festivals and is currently Chairman of LabShul/Storahtelling.



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