Annie Burford
Annie Burford is dot.LA's director of events. She's an event marketing pro with over ten years of experience producing innovative corporate events, activations and summits for tech startups to Fortune 500 companies. Annie has produced over 200 programs in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York City working most recently for a China-based investment bank heading the CEC Capital Tech & Media Summit, formally the Siemer Summit.
The latest edition of our dot.LA Convenes series, devoted to empowering women in tech, focused on "Building Confidence in a Virtual World."
dot.LA Convenes: Building Confidence in a Virtual World youtu.be
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As movements such as Times Up and Me Too gain in popularity, examples of women using their voices in the workplace have taken center stage. With all this attention on these issues, why is it that we still struggle with self assurance to stand up for ourselves? Why is it more difficult to find the same confidence our male counterparts easily exude in workplace interactions — especially in male-dominated industries like tech?<br/>
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Challenges around self-censorship have only increased during the pandemic with financial security at stake and working from home making it more difficult to have authentic interactions. We seek to foster an honest dialogue and discuss specific strategies to combat them.
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<a href="https://esportsone.com/" target="_blank">Esports One</a> COO and Co-Founder Sharon Winter, <a href="https://vurbl.com/" target="_blank">Vurbl Media</a> Co-founder, CEO Audra Everett Gold, and <a href="https://www.valence.community/" target="_blank">Valence</a> Head of Partnerships Victoria Tinsley held in in-depth discussion on the topic, led by dot.LA Chief Host & Correspondent Kelly O'Grady.
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<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://dot.la/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzMyNjYwNC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MjU4NDI4OH0.mvGmp687foqJEGVMCIRcsWXGuJI-wNSsjbW1pS2NU18/image.png?width=980" id="5353e" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="446ba4c6e6b8a0276bc61071c7365ffe" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Victoria Tinsley, head of partnerships at Valence
Victoria Tinsley, Head of Partnerships at Valence
<p>Victoria Tinsley is the Head of Partnerships at <a href="http://www.valence.community" target="_blank">Valence,</a> a new tech platform and community incubated by Upfront Ventures focused on connecting Black professionals with mentorship, career opportunities and capital. The company's mission is to unlock the global combined power of Black professionals to create massive economic wealth and social progress that impacts current and future generations. Valence was founded in January 2019 and has a thriving membership of thousands of Black leaders across the nation. Valence also partners with a variety of organizations such as PledgeLA, Netflix, Facebook, USC, The Gathering Spot and Silicon Valley Bank.</p><p>Prior to joining Valence, Victoria served on the marketing senior leadership team at AAA as vice president, consumer insights & data analytics. In this role, she led the analytics center of excellence that supported four divisions (Insurance, Membership, Travel, A3 Labs) representing over $4 billion in annual revenue. </p><p>A traditionally trained CPG marketer, Victoria also previously worked at General Mills managing product development and marketing strategy for the Annie's Homegrown, Immaculate Baking Company and Pillsbury brands. Prior to earning her MBA at the Michigan Ross School of Business, Victoria held a variety of marketing roles during her 7 years at Active Network, a tech startup that had a successful $1 billion IPO and sale. </p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://dot.la/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzMxMTIxNC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0NzUxNzAzOX0.7nTYo-hS5aM1FeASf8kH7MvaEtnFognC-jLcGg4yfeQ/image.jpg?width=980" id="64b1d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3380f3f5ea4372d735495564900e9243" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Audra Everett Gold, co-founder and CEO at Vurbl Media
Audra Everett Gold, Co-founder and CEO at Vurbl Media
<p>Audra Gold has dedicated her entire career to building first to market and scaled mass media digital products. Her passion for product management and her ability to identify new and emerging product trends has led to her reputation for developing novel, cutting-edge products across gaming, streaming video, digital media, enterprise SaaS platforms, in various business verticals.</p><p>Today, as the founder of Product N, a product management consulting and recruitment firm, Audra and her team work with early-stage ventured funded start-ups in various verticals to create, launch and grow their digital products. The team also works in partnership with the VC firm Alpha Edison, helping <a href="https://www.alphaedison.com/companies" target="_blank">AE portfolio companies</a> in need of product management expertise to either create, expand or pivot their digital product lines. </p><p>Prior to Product N, Audra has spent years leading Product teams at <a href="https://rubiconproject.com/" target="_blank">Rubicon Project</a>, <a href="https://themighty.com/" target="_blank">The Mighty</a>, <a href="https://pluto.tv/welcome" target="_blank">Pluto TV,</a> Fourthwall Studios and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defy_Media" target="_blank">Defy Media</a> (formerly Break Media). She also held senior product roles at WeddingChannel/TheKnot, Viviendi Universal's online division, and IGN.com. </p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://dot.la/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzMxMTQyNC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTU5NjE4MjI5NX0.YbWeni8l0dy1-Jpj_Lxm_l4DMFfZVnMa3KrK_LQANBI/image.jpg?width=980" id="c8d03" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4622fdae840b72bb9f8eb9de3f6b5ae6" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Sharon WInter, COO and co-founder of Esports One
Sharon Winter, COO and Co-Founder of Esports One
<p>Sharon Winter is the COO and Co-Founder of Esports One, the first all-in-one all-in-one fantasy esports platform with real-time predictive data. A graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, Sharon previously worked at IBM's Watson division before becoming CEO and Founder of Hotpoint App, a CRM and data company for the entertainment and hospitality industries with over 2500 clients from Live Nation, Patron, Hakkasan, Wynn, and others.</p> <p>Sharon has experience building community-centered products within data-rich platforms. She's on the mission of bringing esports to the Olympics by bridging the gap between esports and sports, and the endemics and non-endemics of the gaming world.</p>From Your Site Articles
- Los Angeles' Startup Scene is Still a Male-Dominated Game - dot.LA ›
- Guest Column: Housing Isn't the Reason Women are Paid Less in ... ›
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We are very excited to host our next startup pitch showcase at 11:00 am PST on Thursday, June 4th. Submissions are now open for company nominations to present at the live event. We are looking for Southern California startups in real estate technology. Submissions will be evaluated on a rolling basis.
Brad Inman, founder of Inman, the leading real estate news source along with Spencer Rascoff, co-founder, executive chairman at dot.LA will be leading the discussion as the two leading active investors and experts in this space.
Nominate your company here
Register for the event here. Space is limited!
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<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://dot.la/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzMyNjY2Ni9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzNDM4NDkzMH0.v5tfVFcyFVen8Rbrw6eaei4A3PqVjwnA7loioFZAR6w/image.png?width=980" id="e1ee0" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8122ff13df54fa353a7929a9f837e41f" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Brad Inman, founder at Inman
Brad Inman, Founder at Inman
<p>Award-winning journalist and publisher, Brad Inman is the founder and owner of Inman, real estate's leading name in news, information and innovation since 1983. In addition, his Inman-branded real estate business and technology conferences bring thousands of thought leaders together each year to share best practices and promote innovation. Countless new products and companies have been launched at Inman conferences.</p><p>A native of Carlinville, Illinois, and a graduate of Boston University, Inman began his career as a housing policy analyst and community advocate who parlayed a weekly real estate column in the San Francisco Examiner at the dawn of the Internet era into a series of entrepreneurial ventures. In 1999, Inman founded HomeGain.com, an early provider of online marketing programs. HomeGain was sold to Classified Ventures, LLC, in 2005. That same year, Inman founded TurnHere, an online commercial video platform and, in 2008, founded Vook, an online e-publishing platform. He also was an early investor in Curbed.com and served as chairman of the board before it was sold to Vox Media. A compelling speaker, he is a regular at real estate events around the nation and has been a visiting lecturer in the School of Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://dot.la/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzMyNjY3NC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxODI1NDY1N30.yjUCIE8Z16_yPW-8nNnSrs13pueF2m_9XoQ1B47d4eM/image.jpg?width=980" id="c54d2" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="924666e8437e4f21c7043e2abc6875f9" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Spencer Rascoff, Co-Founder, Executive Chairman
Spencer Rascoff, Co-Founder, Executive Chairman
<p>Spencer Rascoff is an entrepreneur and company leader who co-founded Zillow, Hotwire and dot.LA, and who served as Zillow's CEO for a decade. He is currently executive chairman of dot.LA and a board member at Zillow and TripAdvisor. In fall 2019 Spencer was a Visiting Executive Professor at Harvard Business School where he co-taught the "Managing Tech Ventures" course. In 2015, Spencer co-wrote and published his first book, the New York Times' Best Seller "Zillow Talk: Rewriting the Rules of Real Estate." Spencer is the host of "Office Hours," a monthly podcast on dot.LA featuring candid conversations between prominent executives on leadership, diversity and inclusion, and startups. </p>Related Articles Around the Web
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Join us Tuesday, June 2nd at 11:00 am PST for the next dot.LA Strategy Session: Office 2021, in Partnership with HelloOffice.
It's been more than two months since much of the professional workforce went remote. After the coronavirus subsides, how much work will stay remote and how will offices adapt to the new reality to make employees feel safe? What does all this mean for the future of tech companies?
Join dot.LA senior reporter Ben Bergman for an executive-level strategy session presented by HelloOffice featuring Brendan Wallace, co-founder & managing partner at Fifth Wall and Justin Bedecarre, co-founder and CEO of HelloOffice.
Register Here - Space is Limited!
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://dot.la/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzMyODMxMS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTU5MTYwMDAyMH0.EfmaT4wEld6ubWxuZKS7h6LLoxZlTjQucJ5CEmyHVMk/image.jpg?width=980" id="b3d9d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="764902fbee52dc0a22d8eca583a9a42a" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Brendan Wallace, co-founder & managing partner at Fifth Wall
Brendan Wallace, Co-Founder & Managing Partner at Fifth Wall
<p>Brendan Wallace is a co-founder and managing partner at Fifth Wall, where he guides the firm's strategic vision.</p><p>Prior to starting Fifth Wall, Brendan co-founded Identified, a workforce optimization data and analytics company that raised $33 million of venture funding and was acquired by Workday (NYSE: WKDY) in 2014. He also co-founded Cabify, the largest ridesharing service in Latin America, and has been an active investor, leading more than 60 angel investments including Bonobos, Dollar Shave Club, Lyft, SpaceX, Clutter, and Philz Coffee.</p><p>Brendan started his career at Goldman Sachs in the real estate, hospitality, and gaming group before joining The Blackstone Group's real estate private equity practice.</p><p>Brendan is from New York City and currently lives in Venice. He graduated from Princeton University, where he received his BA in political science and economics. He received his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://dot.la/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzMyODMzNS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxMjcxOTUyMH0.Bal8hd87TPNeuFnDeRREX2cT51yi1Vl-zgPyqsO5bUg/image.jpg?width=980" id="38868" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="fe084642367d370dc02ac02f0e9bc88d" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Justin Bedecarre, co-founder & CEO of HelloOffice
Justin Bedecarre, Co-Founder & CEO of HelloOffice
<p>Justin is the co-founder and CEO of HelloOffice, a technology powered commercial real estate brokerage, working with companies like Y Combinator, Lever, Patreon and Periscope Data to make searching for office space seamless and intelligent.<br><br>As a co-founder of 42Floors, he worked to change the way companies find office space online. They raised over $17 million from Thrive Capital, NEA, Bessemer and YC and Knotel acquired 42Floors in 2018.<br><br>As a broker at Cushman & Wakefield, Justin worked with companies including AKQA, Thumbtack and Salesforce to find and lease office space. He earned Rookie of the Year for Northern California, co-wrote a blog on the Bay Area commercial real estate industry and produced a conference called War For Talent. </p>From Your Site Articles
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