Office Hours With Spencer Rascoff

Spencer speaks with Maria Colacurcio, the CEO of Syndio Solutions on this episode of Office Hours. Syndio is a software startup helping companies around the world create an equitable workplace for all employees, regardless of gender, race or ethnicity. Syndio’s workplace equity platform helps companies close pay and opportunity gaps, mitigate legal risk and turn diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) goals into tangible results. Prior to joining Syndio, Colacurcio co-founded Smartsheet.com, which went public in 2018, and spent three years at Starbucks, one of the first Fortune 50 companies to make their pay equity results public. Colacurcio serves on the board of the nonprofit Fair Pay Workplace and has been named one of the 100 most intriguing entrepreneurs by Goldman Sachs' Builders and Innovators Summit. As a CEO and a mom of seven, Colacurcio is walking the walk on eradicating workplace inequities; she was able to raise a $17.1 million Series B investment in January 2021 while eight months pregnant.

This episode features Nick Green, co-founder of Los Angeles-based ecommerce startup Thrive Market in conversation with Spencer. Nick speaks about selling his first company, a college test prep startup which was purchased by Revolution Prep, in his early twenties after graduating from Harvard. From there, his involvement with Launchpad LA helped him connect with Thrive co-founder Gunnar Lovelace. Nick saw firsthand the challenges of eating healthy while growing up in the Midwest. He says sticking with the core mission of solving America’s food access problem and mitigating "lifestyle diseases" has helped Thrive stay on track to scale their online marketplace concept. Thrive Market is an online health foods shop that offers its products at a lower cost from other retailers due its "Costco-styled" membership model. Thrive offers its own lineup of products, in addition to the many health and wellness brands that are found at other stores. Since its launch in 2014, Thrive Market has grown to more than 1 million p

On this episode of Office Hours, Spencer speaks with entrepreneur and venture investor David Beatty. David is a managing partner and co-founder of Gaingels, an LGBTQ investment syndicate. Started in 2014, Gaingels' mission is to foster social change through their investment portfolios by creating a more diverse, inclusive and accessible venture capital ecosystem. Their network does this by working with accredited investors interested in diversifying the startup world by building leadership among startup founders from traditionally underrepresented groups. David is also co-founder of Digital Irish Angels, a nonprofit organization investing in innovative companies in Ireland. This episode was recorded at the The Milken Institute Global Conference on May 2, 2022.

On this episode, Spencer speaks with iconic global business leader John Chambers in a live conversation that was recorded at the Montgomery Summit on May 24. Chambers, the former Chairman and CEO of Cisco, currently serves as the founder and CEO of JC2 Ventures, focused on helping build and scale disruptive startups from around the world, largely by investing in companies that are leading market transitions. The Montgomery Summit is an exclusive gathering of over 1,000 senior-level investors, thought leaders, corporate development teams, technology executives, and top private company CEOs immersed in two days of cutting-edge ideas, creativity, and networking at the iconic Fairmont Miramar in Santa Monica.

Spencer speaks to Miami Mayor Francis Suarez on this episode of Office Hours. In this conversation he talks about his broad based views on the city’s tech economy, why he supports cryptocurrency, and took his salary in crypto (the city even has its own MiamiCoin). Mayor Suarez talks about the evolution of the local technology ecosystem through Venture Miami and its growing fintech, medtech, and greentech sectors. He is the son of former Miami Mayor, Xavier Suarez and is the first Miami-born mayor, and currently also serves as the president of the US Conference of Mayors.

In this episode of Office Hours, Spencer speaks with Congressman Derek Kilmer who serves as the United States Representative of Washington’s 6th Congressional District. Rep. Kilmer started his career as a business consultant for McKinsey & Company, then moved on to work for the Economic Development Board for Tacoma-Pierce County. He then began a career in local government in Olympia, serving in the Washington State House from 2005 to 2007 and the state Senate from 2007 until he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2012. Rep. Kilmer is now serving his fifth term in the U.S. House and is a member of the Appropriations Committee. He currently serves as the Chair for the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress—which in this interview he dubs “The Fix Congress Committee.” The Committee was formed to develop recommendations to make Congress more effective, efficient and transparent. It looks at potential technology solutions, along with other ways to increase civility and collaboration.

Host Spencer Rascoff speaks with Ian Siegel, CEO and co-founder of ZipRecruiter on this episode of Office Hours. ZipRecruiter is an online employment marketplace that uses artificial intelligence to match businesses with job candidates in every industry. More than 1.8 million employers have used ZipRecruiter since its founding in 2010. Ian previously held leadership roles at CitySearch, Stamps.com and Rent.com. He received his B.A. in sociology from Oberlin College. He's now based in Santa Monica, California. His book “Get Hired Now!” is a Wall Street Journal bestseller. 

Spencer caught up with Mayor Stephen Adler at the Milken Institute Global Conference on May 2. Mayor Adler is the 58th mayor of Austin, Texas—a city that, along with L.A., has grown into a thriving hub of tech startups over the past two decades. Mayor Adler has received praise for his administration’s focus on innovation while staying true to the city’s slogan: “Keep Austin Weird.” Mayor Adler was born in Washington, D.C. and attended Princeton and the University of Texas Law School.

Aero CEO Uma Subramanian speaks to Spencer on this episode of Office Hours about her love of everything that flies. Her appreciation of flight was sparked by her visit to Space Camp as a child which led her on the path to study aerospace engineering. Uma got her start in the aviation industry working at Northrop Grumman under contract to NASA. After receiving her MBA at Harvard Business School, Subramanian went into consulting, then returned to aerospace. After a brief stint as the director of European operations for TaskRabbit, her career pivoted towards innovation in the aviation world. Uma was the founding CEO of Voom, an Airbus company, which built the world’s first urban air transportation system in São Paulo and Mexico City using helicopters–effectively creating one of the world’s first vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) networks. Uma shares the strategies that Aero has used to build its luxury air travel brand by offering private flights at a lower price point.

On this episode of Office Hours, Spencer speaks to Philip Rosedale, CEO and cofounder of High Fidelity and founder of Linden Lab, for a wide-ranging conversation about Web 3.0 and the future of the metaverse. Rosedale, who recently rejoined Second Life as a strategic advisor, speaks about his vision on what the future of metaverse holds, and how startups can prepare to innovate around it. As a true pioneer in the early iterations of the metaverse and virtual reality, Rosedale shares what he’s learned about the challenges and opportunities that face the growth of what has become the biggest new buzzword in tech. This talk was originally broadcast as a live online discussion on Zoom that took place as part of Madrona Venture Labs “Launchable: Web3 Startups” event on March 18, 2022.

Liz Jenkins, the COO of Hello Sunshine talks about how the media company looks to put women at the center of the narrative. The L.A.-based company was founded by actor Reese Witherspoon and dedicated to female authorship. Their stories aspire to be both fun and informative and to spread contagious joy through the women at the heart of their storytelling. Liz, who joined the company as its CFO in 2018, talks about the career path that took her from investment banking to the entertainment industry. During her time at Hello Sunshine, she’s helped grow the company’s business, including their scripted, unscripted and kids & animation studios, plus Reese’s Book Club. Previously, Liz served as the head of strategic ventures for Sony PlayStation and senior vice president of corporate development and strategy at Media Rights Capital (MRC) where she developed and implemented innovative distribution models, strategic partnerships and new businesses across film and television. Liz serves on the board and audit commi

With her longstanding Wall Street career (Citigroup, Merrill Lynch) and unique perspective as a woman in a predominantly male industry, Sallie Krawcheck is tackling a question that has mystified investment banks for decades: how to successfully market wealth management services to women. As CEO of digital financial investment platform Ellevest, she sees diversity as the greatest advantage in cracking the code. Krawcheck encourages each employee to bring their "whole self" to work, and emphasizes hiring the best fit for the team, which in some cases could be a different choice than the person who traditionally would be considered the best fit for the role. This interview was originally published on September of 2016.

Ryan Serhant, one of the most visible real estate brokers in media, chats with Spencer about his inventive approach to sales on this episode of Office Hours. Ryan is known as one of the stars of Bravo’s Emmy-nominated "Million Dollar Listing New York," and its spin-off show "Sell It Like Serhant." Ryan tells the story of how he wound up working as a real estate agent after arriving in New York to support his dream of becoming an actor. It started as a way to cover his rent and living expenses. What followed was a wildly successful career in real estate. His team was ranked number 1 in New York by the "Wall Street Journal" for three straight years. After a decade of leading that sales team he founded SERHANT, a cloud brokerage designed around the digital marketplace. The brokerage’s in-house production team and tech platform has reinvented the traditional business model, bringing in over $4 billion in sales and selling more than 80 new development projects across New York, Los Angeles and Miami.

Spencer speaks with Calvin Selth, program manager for AnnenbergTech at the Annenberg Foundation on this episode of Office Hours. In his role at the foundation, Calvin leads operations and program management for PledgeLA, a collective of more than 220 tech companies and venture capital firms hosted in partnership with L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti. PledgeLA's mission is to connect civic, private sector and nonprofit partners to increase access to jobs and capital for underrepresented communities.  Calvin began his career as a bilingual K-8 educator, and has used his past experience in talent recruitment, nonprofit development and event marketing to gather people from diverse backgrounds around shared goals. He graduated magna cum laude from Cornell University and holds a certificate in leadership and management from the Wharton School. 

Paul Hanges, CEO of JibJab speaks with Office Hours host Spencer Rascoff about how the L.A.-based digital entertainment studio has attained success beyond its viral videos by moving into the eCards space and using its unique blend of satirical humor to compete with rivals Hallmark and American Greetings. Founded in 1999 by brothers Evan and Gregg Spiridellis, the company first achieved widespread attention during the 2004 U.S. presidential election. Their video of candidates George Bush and John Kerry singing “This Land Is Your Land” became a viral hit. JibJab has produced commercials and short videos for clients including Sony, Noggin, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, PBS Kids, Sprout, NBC, Qubo and Disney before focusing on what eventually became their flagship personalized eCard and messaging services. They've seen surprising success with their animated sticker-making program which became a top App Store download. In 2019, JibJab was acquired by the private equity firm Catapult Capital.

Steven Wolfe Pereira, CEO of Encantos talks with Spencer about how the EdTech start-up uses "storyteaching" to help kids learn 21st-century skills. With diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI) baked-in to the Public Benefit Corporation's mission, Encantos seeks to unlock talent from creators around the world to help build inclusive Storyworlds around the characters that make up its Intellectual Property. The platform, co-founded with author/illustrator Susie Jaramillo, who serves as President and Chief Creative Officer helped create Canticos, an Emmy-nominated bilingual baby and toddler brand. Headquartered in Culver City, the start-up has raised a total of $8.5M in over three rounds of funding. Steven Wolfe Pereira began his career in finance at The Blackstone Group and has had roles as the CMO of Datalogix, Neustar and Quantcast. He earned a B.A. from Tufts University, was a Fulbright Scholar and earned his MBA from MIT’s Sloan School of Management. A Dominican-American born and raised in New York, Wolfe P

Russ Glass, CEO of Headspace Health, a digital mental health and wellbeing platform, speaks with Spencer about his involvement overseeing the surge in the Telehealth market after the merger of Headspace and Ginger. Glass, a serial tech entrepreneur—who was also formerly Founder of Bizo, Inc., aqcuired by LinkedIn— speaks candidly about his successes and failures with previous start-ups and why he believes that there is such overwhelming demand for the healthcare services that Headspace offers.

Allison Ellsworth and her husband Stephen, formerly employed in the oil and gas industry, quit their jobs to bet on themselves and and started a health-based soda alternative. Their concept, a prebiotic drink called Poppi masks the strong taste of apple cider vinegar using less than 6 grams of sugar to help support gut health. The Texas based start-up was funded by Rohan Oza after the couple went on Shark Tank who helped them work on a rebrand. Allison, who was 9 months pregnant shares how the company has focused on its digital and retail sales strategy, and why they are moving their team from Dallas to Austin.

This conversation explores the L.A. tech scene and venture investing featuring two of the industry's leading voices. Spencer Rascoff and Dana Settle discuss Pacaso and Greycroft while sharing their thoughts on L.A.'s evolving ecosystem. Dana Settle is a founding partner of Greycroft, where she heads the firm’s West Coast office out of Los Angeles. Prior to joining Greycroft, Dana spent several years as a venture capitalist and advisor to startup companies in the Bay Area, including six years at Mayfield, where she focused on early stage companies in the mobile communications and consumer Internet markets. Dana currently manages Greycroft’s investments in Anine Bing, AppAnnie, Avaline, Bird, Bumble, Citizen, Clique, Comparably, Goop, HamsaPay, Happiest Baby, Merit Beauty, Seed, Thrive Market, Versed, and WideOrbit. She also managed the firm’s investments in The RealReal (IPO), Awesomeness TV (acquired by Dreamworks), Maker Studios (acquired by Disney), Pulse (acquired by LinkedIn), Trunk Club (acquired by Nord

In this fireside chat with dot.LA and Pacaso co-founder and chair Spencer Rascoff, Jam City President and co-founder Josh Yguado explores what the acquisition of Ludia means for the future of Jam City and mobile gaming. The discussion covers what it means to sit at the intersection of traditional entertainment and mobile gaming and why L.A. is the perfect place for this work.  Jam City is reimagining the future of mobile gaming. Already an award-winning company behind the world’s most enduring mobile games, the company’s recent acquisition of Ludia bolsters its global portfolio of top studios that develop and publish top-grossing games.