Office Hours Podcast: Pacaso Aims to Make Second Home Ownership Possible for Millions

Spencer Rascoff

Spencer Rascoff serves as executive chairman of dot.LA. He is an entrepreneur and company leader who co-founded Zillow, Hotwire, dot.LA, Pacaso and Supernova, and who served as Zillow's CEO for a decade. During Spencer's time as CEO, Zillow won dozens of "best places to work" awards as it grew to over 4,500 employees, $3 billion in revenue, and $10 billion in market capitalization. Prior to Zillow, Spencer co-founded and was VP Corporate Development of Hotwire, which was sold to Expedia for $685 million in 2003. Through his startup studio and venture capital firm, 75 & Sunny, Spencer is an active angel investor in over 100 companies and is incubating several more.

Spencer Rascoff, Austin Allison

On today's episode of Office Hours, I'm excited for you to get to know Austin Allison, my co-founder and CEO of our company, Pacaso.

Birds were the first dwellers Austin served with his boyhood bird-house business. Now, with Pacaso, our goal is to democratize second-home ownership by enabling people to co-own an amazing second home --- for 1/8 the cost.

Hear his take on what it meant to have his first company acquired, his number one tip on how to keep his crew focused and how to best navigate what seems like weekly iterations of the start-up environment.


"Startups are incredibly hard. I mean, like every day is you wake up and it's like eating nails for breakfast. You know, you're just you're just dealing with problem after problem and opportunity after opportunity. And if you love what you're doing and you really believe in what you're doing in your heart, the hard work just feels natural. It feels like a blessing." — Austin Allison

Austin Allison co-founded Pacaso to make the dream of second home ownership a reality for more people after experiencing the profound effect it had on his own life. Pacaso is Austin's second startup. In 2008, he founded dotloop in his hometown of Cincinnati, a company that created software to seamlessly manage real estate transactions. Zillow acquired dotloop in 2015, and Austin continued to run dotloop as a Zillow executive until 2018. He lives in Napa, CA with his wife Angela and dog Paris and enjoys spending time in his second home in Lake Tahoe, CA.


Want to hear more episodes? Subscribe to Office Hours on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio or wherever you get your podcasts.

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LA Tech Week Is Back! Here Are the Events We're Watching

Kristin Snyder

Kristin Snyder is dot.LA's 2022/23 Editorial Fellow. She previously interned with Tiger Oak Media and led the arts section for UCLA's Daily Bruin.

LA Tech Week Is Back! Here Are the Events We're Watching
Evan Xie

MONDAY

LA Hardtech: Local Talent Meets CEOs: Want to see robots in action? This hardtech event will showcase product demos and feature conversations about all things aircrafts, satellites, electric vehicles, robots and medical devices. June 5 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. in El Segundo.

Technology and Storytelling for Social Good: LA2050 and Goldhirsh Foundation president Tara Roth will moderate a panel featuring Alexis Cabrera of 9 Dots, Laura Gonzalez of Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI), Sabra Williams of Creative Acts, and Paul Lanctot of The Debt Collective. Tickets are sold out, but stay tuned for dot.LA’s coverage of how technology can advance social good.

TUESDAY

Building a Startup Using Generative AI: As AI takes over the tech space, more startups are eyeing the burgeoning tool. Google’s west coast Head of VC and Startup Partnerships Alexandra Dumas will moderate a panel focused on how startups can best utilize AI. June 6 from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in Venice.

AI &Music: The Black Eyed Peas’ will.i.am will join Google AI’s K Allado-McDowell, Never Before Heard Sounds’ Parag Mital and SOMMS.ai’s Matthew Adell to discuss how AI is changing music composition and production. June 6 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. in Hollywood.

BLCK VC + Diversity VC: Navigating the Capital Landscape Panel: Two VCs focused on helping people of color grow their investing careers, BLCK VC and Diversity VC, will host a panel discussion on how diverse fund managers and founders can secure funding. June 6 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. in West L.A.

Female Founders: Female Founders: Planning. Pivoting. Profiting: Female entrepreneurs—including Mia Pokriefka of Huxly, Anjali Kundra of Partender, Sunny Wu of LE ORA and Montré Moore of AMP Beauty LA—will discuss how women can set their businesses up for success. June 6 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. in Fairfax.

LA #TechWeek VC Kickoff Party: dot.LA executive chairman Spencer Rascoff’s venture fund 75 & Sunny is partnering with VC firm Crosscut to launch L.A. Tech week with music, drinks and networking. June 6 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. in Pacific Palisades.

WEDNESDAY

SUPERCHARGE LA: Access to Capital & Cocktails: Join dot.LA for a night of networking and live music. LA Chargers running back Austin Ekeler and leaders from LA venture capital will discuss how founders can increase their funding. June 7 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. in Santa Monica.

Hollywood Dream: Star in 3D Movie with Your Avatar, Rendered from Script with PentoPix: Storytellers from PentoPix, an AI video generator, will share their thoughts on how the new technology can change the film production process. Attendees can insert their own 3D avatar into a story created for the event. June 7 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Santa Monica.

THURSDAY

Aerospace Meets Climate Tech: Learn more about how climate tech is transforming the aerospace industry at this panel featuring the industry’s founders and investors. Get a look at how Arc Boats made an electric sport boat, tour the company’s production floor and hear from its team of former rocket scientists. June 8 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. in Los Angeles.

Marketing in the Age of AI: What Startups & Creatives Need to Know About the Changing Creative Industry: Learn how brand strategists are utilizing AI to upend the creative process while still reaching audiences. Software platforms Melodize.ai and Davant Systems and advertising platform Trade Secret will dive into AI-generated short-form videos and images. June 8 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. in Playa Vista.

Content Capital: Where Investors Meet Creators: Techstars Managing Director Melissa Pegus will discuss how the next generation of the creator economy can find inspiration—and funding. June 8 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in Santa Monica.

FRIDAY

Sports in LA: Investing, Founding and Growing: Sports PR agency Athlete Strategies will host an event featuring founders, VCs and athletes sharing industry investment opportunities and trends. June 9 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Santa Monica.

Moonshot Thinking & Radical Solutions: Google and “X”—an innovation lab within Alphabet dedicated to building technology that will improve people’s lives—will discuss setting goals, fostering breakthroughs and redefining humanity. June 9 from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in Playa Vista.

The Closeout Event by Mantis VC and M13: Wrap up L.A. Tech Week with a night of networking. Join founders, VCs and investors at an event put on by The Chainsmokers’ Mantis VC and M13. June 9 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. in Santa Monica. - Kristin Snyder

Don’t miss out! ⏰Last Chance to Register for SUPERCHARGE LA #TechWeek

Are you ready to attend tech week’s most anticipated event, SUPERCHARGE LA: Access to Capital & Cocktails? ✨

Join leaders like Miguel (Musician & Founder, S1C), , Austin Ekeler (Los Angeles Chargers), Roger Chabra (T3MP0), Anna Barber (M13), Spencer Rascoff (Zillow, Pacaso) and partners M13, BLCK VC, VamosVentures, Grid110 and other leaders from LA Venture Capital to discuss how we can close the gap and provide more capital opportunities for LA founders 💡

With exclusive entertainment, open bar, food, music, mingling and more surprise announcements from PledgeLA, SUPERCHARGE LA promises to be an invaluable experience for all attendees to connect with top LA Tech as we celebrate closing the gap during LA #TechWeek! 🚀

🎟️ Ticket sales end soon! Be sure to RSVP here before registration closes on Tuesday, June 6th.

Thank you for your continued support and enthusiasm for SUPERCHARGE LA, we look forward to welcoming you to this remarkable event! 🥂

Best regards,

-dot.LA Team

Here's What People Are Saying About Day One of LA Tech Week

From founders to investors to venture capitalists, here's everything happening at LA Tech Week day one.

What We're Reading...

- Thanks to TikTok, luxury hand soap and body products are in the spotlight in 2023.

- The difference between influencers and advertisers when it comes to modern day travel marketing.

- What Apple Needs in Order for Its Headset To Succeed.

- More Mass-Layoffs Continue As Spotify Plans to Cut 200 Jobs In Its Podcast Unit.

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How Are We Doing? We're working to make the newsletter more informative, with deeper analysis and more news about L.A.'s tech and startup scene. Let us know what you think in our survey, or email us!

https://twitter.com/ksnyder_db
SUPERCHARGE LA: Access to Capital & Cocktails (LA TECH WEEK)

Are you excited for LA Tech Week's most anticipated event: SUPERCHARGE LA: Access to Capital & Cocktails? We can't wait to see you at 1212 Santa Monica on Wednesday, June 7th, from 6-10 p.m.

Get ready for an evening filled with networking, inspiration, and fun with special guests Grammy-winning singer and entrepreneur Miguel, Los Angeles Chargers running back Austin Ekeler, and more!

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What's Happening At LA Tech Week Day One
Evan Xie

L.A. Tech Week has brought venture capitalists, founders and entrepreneurs from around the world to the California coast. With so many tech nerds in one place, it's easy to laugh, joke and reminisce about the future of tech in SoCal.

Here's what people are saying about L.A. Tech Week on social:

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