Adam Miller's Second Act

Christian Hetrick

Christian Hetrick is dot.LA's Entertainment Tech Reporter. He was formerly a business reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer and reported on New Jersey politics for the Observer and the Press of Atlantic City.

Adam Miller's Second Act
Some of the companies and non-profits in Adam’s orbit

This is Part II of our deep dive on Adam Miller, one of LA’s most successful (and philanthropic) tech entrepreneurs. When we left off Adam’s story last week, he had just sold his Santa Monica-based HR tech company Cornerstone OnDemand for $5.2B in 2021.

(If you missed Part I last week, you can find that here.)

After 20 years of company building and an exit like Cornerstone’s, most of us would take a deep breath and think about retirement, or at least a very long vacation. But Adam Miller is not a guy who sits still. He embarked on Act II of the Adam Miller story. You can think of his second act in two parts: Social Impact and Entrepreneurship.

Social Impact

As early as college, Adam began work on homelessness fundraising and advocacy, which has remained a core area of focus to this day. While at Cornerstone, Adam prioritized serving on the boards of several nonprofits rather than sitting on corporate boards (as many other prominent CEOs do). Most notably, for nearly a decade, Adam was chairman of Team Rubicon, a veteran-led organization focused on disaster response. Team Rubicon has led over 500 operations in response to events like the devastating 2010 Haiti earthquake, Hurricane Sandy, the war in Ukraine, and many others. Team Rubicon is now one of the largest disaster relief organizations in the world, with over 160,000 volunteers, and hundreds of thousands of disaster victims served. He also helped create FARE, the world’s largest food allergy nonprofit.

Now that was all during his tenure at Cornerstone. After leaving, Adam stepped on the accelerator in his nonprofit work. Adam and his wife Staci dived deep into the mechanics of nonprofits. How were they structured? What is the state of the art? How can we most effectively translate dollars into results?

They found a few things, but two of the most important were:

  1. There had been little innovation in the space for years.
  2. Most effective charitable organizations were integrated across multiple dimensions from grant giving, to direct on the ground action, to political advocacy, to social impact investing.

Put a pin in 1, but based on 2, Adam and Staci founded 1P.org (1P stands for One Planet), which has dedicated its efforts to addressing intractable problems in our society. 1P.org has built concentric circles of focus from local (homelessness) to state-level (workforce development) to national (gun safety) to global (climate change), and operates different organizations attempting to solve each problem.

Most relevant to our LA community are the organizations focused on homelessness and workforce development, Better Angels, and LA-tech.org, respectively.

Better Angels’ mission is to end the epidemic of homelessness in Los Angeles by unlocking the power of the LA community. The organization is tackling homelessness from every angle, including providing micro-loans to prevent vulnerable Angelenos from becoming unhoused, creating an affordable housing REIT to build housing, and developing technology to better meet unhoused individuals where they are. To learn more or get involved with Better Angels, click here.

LA-tech.org is a nonprofit coalition of LA’s top tech companies built to expand economic opportunities for LA’s underserved communities. Adam conceived of LA-Tech’s core initiative following the murder of George Floyd: finding internships for 1,000 LA students of color at LA’s great tech companies. People thought he was crazy, but after two years, the organization has passed 950 internships and is now setting its sights on 1,000 new internships per year. To learn more or host interns at your company, click here.

As if all this philanthropic activity isn’t enough to keep one person busy, Adam has gone back to the world of entrepreneurship. Remember we said that during his research, Adam found nonprofits hadn’t seen much innovation in years?

Entrepreneurship (Again)

Adam is back in the founder/CEO seat. His new company is called Instil, and the company’s goal is to bring the tech infrastructure for nonprofits into the modern era. Instil is a mobile-first SaaS product that gives nonprofit operators visibility into donations, community, membership, volunteers, and data. The company is a for-profit business focused on nonprofit impact and has raised funding from top investors like LA-based Greycroft, Threshold, USVP and Bessemer Venture Partners.

So are we finally done cataloging Adam’s second act, with a multitude of nonprofit boards, running a full nonprofit himself, and starting a new venture backed software business? Of course not.

Adam is also incubating, advising and supporting additional startups where he serves as Executive Chair, including Groundswell, the “Robinhood of philanthropy,” and Clovers, a company reinventing the interview process. In addition, he continues to invest in early stage companies through 1P Ventures.

So how does Adam keep all this straight?

According to Adam things are easier today than they were in the Cornerstone days.

“Cornerstone was very complex - it had many different businesses, and by the end, I was spending 70% of my time on the road, traveling. Today we have amazing tools. I run everything with Zoom, Slack and Evernote. It also helps that I’ve gone through every stage of a company. I make decisions faster. It’s easier to raise money, easier to hire. I can do things in a fraction of the time.”

For the rest of us mere mortals, all we can do is watch with our jaws on the floor and hope to make a tenth of the impact that Adam has made and continues to contribute.

LA’s Upgrade in Travel and NBA Viewing
Image Source: Los Angeles World Airports

🔦 Spotlight

Exciting developments are underway for Los Angeles as the city prepares for major upgrades in both travel and entertainment. The Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners has approved an additional $400 million for the Automated People Mover (APM) at LAX, increasing its total budget to $3.34 billion. This boost ensures the elevated train’s completion by December 8, 2025, with service starting in January 2026. For Angelenos, this means a significant improvement in travel convenience. The APM will streamline connections between parking, rental car facilities, and the new Metro transit station, drastically cutting traffic congestion around the airport. Imagine a future without the dreaded 30-minute traffic delays at LAX! The APM will operate 24/7, reducing airport traffic by 42 million vehicle miles annually and carrying 30 million passengers each year, while also creating thousands of local jobs and supporting small businesses.

Meanwhile, the NBA is also making waves with its new broadcasting deals. The league has signed multi-year agreements with ESPN, NBC, and Amazon Prime Video, marking a notable shift in media partnerships. ESPN will maintain its long-standing role, NBC returns as a network broadcaster after years away, and Amazon Prime Video will provide NBA games through its streaming platform. Starting with the 2025-2026 season, these deals will enhance the league's reach and revenue, aligning with the NBA's goal to expand its audience and adapt to evolving viewing habits. Whether you're catching the action on TV or streaming online, these changes promise to elevate the fan experience and bring more basketball excitement to Los Angeles.


🤝 Venture Deals

LA Companies

  • Pearl, a startup that makes AI-powered software that assists dentists in identifying cavities, gum disease, and other dental conditions, raised a $58M Series B funding led by Left Lane Capital with Smash Capital, and others also participating. - learn more

LA Venture Funds

  • Fulcrum Venture Group participated in a prior $3.5M Pre-Seed Round for Code Metal, a developer tools startup. - learn more
  • B Capital co-led a $12.5M Seed Round for Star Catcher, a startup that aims to develop a space-based grid that captures solar energy in space and distributes it to satellites and other space assets. - learn more
  • Mantis VC and Amplify participated in a $140M Series C for Chainguard, an open source security startup. - learn more
  • Prominent LA venture capitalist, Carter Reum and wife, Paris Hilton, participated in a $14M Seed/Series A for W, the men’s personal care brand from Jake Paul. - learn more

LA Exits


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🤫 The Secret to Staying Fit at Your Desk: 6 Essential Under-Desk Exercise Machines

Health experts are sounding the alarm: our sedentary jobs are slowly killing us, yet we can't abandon our desks if we want to keep the lights on. It feels like we're caught between a rock and a hard place. Enter under-desk exercise machines – the overlooked heroes (albeit kind of goofy looking) of the modern workspace. These devices let tech professionals stay active, enhance their health, and increase their productivity, all without stepping away from their screens. Here are 6 fantastic options that will enhance the way you work and workout simultaneously.

DeskCycle Under Desk Bike Pedal Exerciser

This bike has nearly ten thousand five-star reviews on amazon. It works with nearly any desk/chair setup. It is quiet, sturdy and allows up to 40 pounds of resistance. If you are looking for an under-desk bike this is a fantastic option.

Type: Under-Desk Bike

Price: $180 - $200


Sunny Health & Fitness Dual Function Under Desk Pedal Exerciser

This under-desk bike is extremely quiet due to the magnetic resistance making it an ideal option if you work in a shared space. It doesn’t slip, has eight levels of resistance, and the option to work legs and arms. It’s about half the price of the DeskCycle bike making it a solid mid-range option for those looking to increase their daily activity.

Type: Under-Desk Bike

Price: $100 - $110


Sunny Health & Fitness Sitting Under Desk Elliptical

This under-desk elliptical comes in multiple colors if you really want to underscore that you are a quirky individual, in case an under-desk elliptical isn’t enough. This model is a bit heavy (very sturdy), has eight different resistance levels, and has more than nine thousand 5-star reviews.

Type: Under-Desk Elliptical

Price: $120 - $230


DeskCycle Ellipse Leg Exerciser

This under-desk elliptical is another great option. It is a bit pricey but it’s quiet, well-made and has eight resistance levels. It also syncs with your apple watch or fitbit which is a very large perk for those office-wide “step” challenges. Get ready to win.

Type: Under-Desk Elliptical

Price: $220 - $230


Daeyegim Quiet LED Remote Treadmill

If you have a standing desk and are looking to walk and work this is a fantastic option. This walking-only treadmill allows you to walk between 0.5 to 5 mph (or jog unless you have the stride length of an NBA forward). It is very quiet, which is perfect if you want to use it near others or during a meeting. You can’t change the incline or fold it in half but it is great for simply getting in some extra steps during the work day.

Type: Under-Desk Treadmill

Price: $220 - $230


Sunny Health & Fitness Foldable Manual Treadmill

This under-desk treadmill isn’t the most premium model but it is affordable and has an impressive array of features. It is a manual treadmill meaning it doesn’t need to be plugged in; it is foldable and offers an incline up to 13%. I personally can’t imagine working and walking up a 13% incline but if that sounds like your cup of tea, then I truly respect the hustle.

Type: Under-Desk Treadmill

Price: $150 - $200




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🤠Musk Picks Texas and 🔥Tinder AI Picks Your Profile Pictures

🔦 Spotlight

Tinder is altering dating profile creation with its new AI-powered Photo Selector feature, designed to help users choose their most appealing dating profile pictures. This innovative tool employs facial recognition technology to curate a set of up to 10 photos from the user's device, streamlining the often time-consuming process of profile setup. To use the feature, users simply take a selfie within the Tinder app and grant access to their camera roll. The AI then analyzes the photos based on factors like lighting and composition, drawing from Tinder's research on what makes an effective profile picture.

The selection process occurs entirely on the user's device, ensuring privacy and data security. Tinder doesn't collect or store any biometric data or photos beyond those chosen for the profile, and the facial recognition data is deleted once the user exits the feature. This new tool addresses a common pain point for users, as Tinder's research shows that young singles typically spend about 25 to 33 minutes selecting a profile picture. By automating this process, Tinder aims to reduce profile creation time and allow users to focus more on making meaningful connections.

In wholly unrelated news, Elon Musk has announced plans to relocate the headquarters of X (formerly Twitter) and SpaceX from California to Texas. SpaceX will move from Hawthorne to Starbase, while X will shift from San Francisco to Austin. Musk cited concerns about aggressive drug users near X's current headquarters and a new California law regarding gender identity notification in schools as reasons for the move. This decision follows Musk's previous relocation of Tesla's headquarters to Texas in 2021.

🤝 Venture Deals

LA Companies

LA Venture Funds

LA Exits

  • Penguin Random House agreed to acquire comic book publisher Boom! Studios from backers like Walt Disney Co. - learn more

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