Office Hours Podcast: Why L.A. Is Now a Tech Capital – A Conversation With Brian Lee
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.
Los Angeles has come a long way in the 20 years that Brian Lee has built up startups. Brian co-founded LegalZoom in 2001, ShoeDazzle with Kim Kardashian in 2008, and The Honest Company with Jessica Alba in 2012. Now, Brian is co-founder and managing director of BAM Ventures, an early stage fund and startup studio, based in Los Angeles.
Hear Spencer and Brian, recorded at the Montgomery Summit earlier this year, discuss Los Angeles' evolution as a tech hub. They dig into the exciting state of the current Los Angeles start-up scene, what BAM looks for in founders, thoughts on building brands — and a company Lee regrets he passed on.
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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.