MAXINE LAPIDUSS

Maxine is an award winning TV writer/producer, Entrepreneur, marketing and branding executive, and consultant. She began her career as a stand up comedienne and singer at age 14. After receiving her BFA from Carnegie Mellon University, she moved to New York joining the burgeoning comedy club scene and became a regular at legendary nightclubs The Improv, Catch a Rising Star and The Bottom Line, also headlining at comedy and rock venues throughout the country. Soon Maxine shifted her focus to writing sitcoms, quickly rising to Producer, then Executive Producer on some of the most successful comedies of all time including: the final season of Ellen (three Emmy nominations), Roseanne, (Emmy nomination as Best Comedy Series and a Golden Globe award the years Maxine was there), Home Improvement (People's Choice Award for Best Comedy Series), Dharma and Greg, and Situation: Comedy (on BRAVO), a series Maxine hosted and produced with Sean Hayes (Will and Grace) about how to make a sitcom.

As a TV executive and show runner, Maxine developed her managerial skills by supervising writing staffs, and overseeing production crews, casting, editing, sound mixing, sweetening, and merchandising. She honed her sales pitches selling storylines and pilots to network and studio heads.

In 1999, Maxine took a break from her lucrative overall deal with SONY to co-found VOXXY.com, the acclaimed interactive web and TV content company aimed at teenage girls. VOXXY was one of the big Hollywood players in the creative content space on the web during the days of the dot com boom.

As Co-CEO of VOXXY, Maxine wrote the company's initial business plans, raising the first 2 rounds of financing (2M), and created cutting edge content deals with some of Hollywood's top writers, producers, and stars. Maxine convinced Jennifer Aniston to act as the company's spokesperson for free, as well as star in her own broadband show which garnered Voxxy massive press in every major magazine, newspaper, and on countless TV shows. Maxine also forged advertising and marketing deals with companies like Motorola and Hard Candy creating branded "advertainment" to reach their desired market.

Though ahead of its time (and the technology), everything Voxxy preached, broadcast, and produced -- including its fresh interactive website (winner of the Bandie Broadband Award for innovation as the "Newest New Thing"), community-based viral marketing, social networking sites, and broadband series -- is now prevalent on the web.

Maxine continues to blend her business acumen and artistic vision to write and produce content for TV and the web. She also consults with companies and entertainment professionals, assisting them in content development, branding, marketing and promotion.