Sunil Gunderia, Chief Strategy Officer of Age of Learning, says two-thirds of America’s fourth graders are not proficient in english language arts or math despite the $700 billion spent on K-12 education. This disparity spurred the creation of Age of Learning, whose flagship product, ABC Mouse, has 30 million young learners on the platform since its launch in 2010. Hear Gunderia describe the Age of Learning business model, how it’s expanding during the time of Covid and what diversity, equity an...
Aug 06, 2020•18 min•Season 4Ep. 8
Stripped of their outdoor gear before their move to Los Angeles, Rachelle Snyder and her husband, Ross Richmond, arrived, surrounded by tantalizing outdoor adventure, but unprepared to enjoy it -- and nowhere to turn. That problem led them to cofound Arrive Outdoors, a company that rents camping, hiking and skiing gear and attire. Hear Rachelle dig into the details of partnering with brands, how best to service the consumer -- and why running the business with her husband works.
Jul 23, 2020•26 min•Season 4Ep. 7
With so many people out of work, how is it the stock market is soaring? To make sense of it all, listen to Spencer as he speaks with John Scuorzo and Zaheed Kajani, both senior managing directors at Evercore, a global independent investment banking advisory firm. This is an edited version of a webinar that took place on June 23, 2020.
Jul 09, 2020•33 min•Season 4Ep. 6
No matter how challenging, if given the choice, Jason Kilar, founder of Hulu and current CEO of WarnerMedia, would willingly disrupt the way television and film was distributed, all over again. Listen to Kilar’s account of contextualizing business during the burgeoning days of the internet, the early, tumultuous times at Hulu, his predictions about where media and entertainment are heading -- and a missed opportunity Jason wishes he had captured.
Jun 25, 2020•29 min•Season 4Ep. 5
During the past decade, the Hollywood entertainment industry has worked towards more inclusivity in their ranks and storytelling. Can Los Angeles Tech employ those learnings? Angela Robinson and Alexandra Kondracke are film and television writers, producers and directors, known for their work on Professor Marston and The Wonder Women , True Blood , Hung and The L Word . They’re also founders of Time’s Up, a movement that aims to create a safe and equitable society free of sexual harassment. In t...
Jun 11, 2020•34 min•Season 4Ep. 4
Led by Tim Ellis, Relativity Space is radically upending the aerospace industry by manufacturing rockets using 3D printers. Hear Spencer and Tim dig into Relativity’s engineering feats, its vision for the future of humans in space, what the cutting-edge company values above all, and how in the not-too-distant future Relativity hopes to send a 3D printer to Mars to print rockets there.
May 28, 2020•28 min•Season 4Ep. 3
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...
May 14, 2020•31 min•Season 4Ep. 2
Managing through crisis is difficult, but great leaders and great companies are created during challenging times. Spencer grappled with crises at two companies he cofounded, Hotwire and Zillow. Hear him and Katie Curnutte, former SVP of Communications at Zillow and now a partner at Kingston Marketing Group, discuss how to manage a company through the strain of calamity while keeping a steady eye on the big picture and the opportunities that can arise.
Apr 30, 2020•25 min•Season 4Ep. 1
Earlier this year, Spencer had an opportunity through the Navy’s Distinguished Visitors Program to visit the USS John C. Stennis, an aircraft carrier. During his time aboard the ship, Spencer met Rear Admiral Michael Wettlaufer, who’s spent 32 years serving in the Navy. Throughout his career, Admiral Wettlaufer has received multiple medals for his service, logged 3,500 flying hours, flown 49 different aircraft types and made over 800 arrested landings. To say he’s a brave and accomplished leader...
Nov 15, 2018•30 min•Season 3Ep. 17
Nick Huzar is co-founder and CEO of OfferUp, the largest mobile marketplace in the U.S. The company has reinvented the model for local, peer-to-peer commerce, and its engagement metrics are incredible. In 2017, the company reported that it had over 60 million downloads and 43 million users who use the platform as frequently as popular social media apps. Today, OfferUp is one of the highest valued private companies in the Pacific Northwest, officially gaining “unicorn” status. In this episode, Ni...
Oct 25, 2018•25 min•Season 3Ep. 16
In this episode, Russell Wilson joins Spencer at Zillow Group’s Seattle headquarters for a live recording in front of employees. Russell is the starting quarterback for the Seahawks, leading the team to its first Super Bowl win in 2014. He’s also one of the NFL’s most charitable athletes. Russell founded the Why Not You Foundation, which has raised millions to support Strong Against Cancer and other children’s charities. When he’s not on the field or engaged in philanthropy, Russell is also an e...
Sep 25, 2018•35 min•Season 3Ep. 15
Van Jones hosts his own show on CNN, and he’s the founder of The Dream Corps, an accelerator that supports economic and environmental innovation. Its #YesWeCode initiative aims to help 100,000 young people from underrepresented backgrounds find success in the tech sector. Van is an important voice on social justice and STEM education, and Time Magazine named him one of the 100 Most Influential People in the world. In this episode, Van joins Spencer at Zillow Group’s New York office for a live re...
Aug 30, 2018•36 min•Season 3Ep. 14
Stewart Butterfield is the co-founder and chief executive officer of Slack, a collaboration hub beloved by more than eight million daily active users. In this episode, Spencer joins Stewart at Slack’s San Francisco headquarters to discuss their recent partnership with Atlassian, Slack’s unique origin story, managing through growth and adversity, and how Slack is fundamentally changing communication at work.
Aug 09, 2018•32 min•Season 3Ep. 13
John MacFarlane served as CEO of Sonos from 2002 to 2017 and was instrumental in building the company’s loyal customer base. Just last week, Sonos filed to go public in a $100 million initial public offering, and the company is on track to do $1 billion in revenue this year alone. In this episode, John discusses Sonos’s decision to partner with competitors like Google and Amazon, why he stepped down as CEO and why it’s important to be relentlessly progressive.
Jul 13, 2018•28 min•Season 3Ep. 12
Adena Friedman is president and chief executive officer of Nasdaq, which operates the second-largest stock exchange in the world by market cap. Named one of Forbes’ most powerful women, Adena built her career at Nasdaq, starting as an intern straight out of an MBA program. Outside of a three-year stint as chief financial officer at The Carlyle Group, she’s been with Nasdaq ever since. In this episode, Spencer joins Adena in New York City to discuss the power of mentorship, the future of the U.S....
Jul 05, 2018•23 min•Season 3Ep. 11
Emily Chang is a best-selling author and host and executive producer of Bloomberg Technology. Earlier this year, she made waves with her book “Brotopia,” an expose on how sexism became pervasive in Silicon Valley, despite its utopian ideals. Drawing on interviews with some of tech’s biggest names, Emily shines a bright light on a big problem. In this episode, Emily joins Spencer at Zillow Group’s San Francisco office to discuss her inspiration for the book, how the tech community got to this poi...
Jun 21, 2018•31 min•Season 3Ep. 10
Alaska Airlines CEO Brad Tilden is in the midst of his "what's next" agenda following the company's successful acquisition of Virgin America. Acquisitions, no matter how well executed, are almost always tough on companies. But the commonalities between Alaska and Virgin - their focus on customers and building alignment among employees - lays the foundation for the former competitors to work together and adopt the best features of both airlines as they move forward under a single brand.
May 31, 2018•31 min•Season 3Ep. 9
What will the home of the future look like? Imagine built-in Wi-Fi, voice-activated digital assistants and other technological innovations that will render older homes obsolete before long. Earlier this month, the nation’s largest homebuilder, Lennar, took a big swing in this direction, announcing that all of its new homes will include smart locks, Wi-Fi, thermostats and lights — all controlled by Amazon Alexa. In this episode, Lennar’s former CEO Stuart Miller, who now serves as its executive c...
May 24, 2018•23 min•Season 3Ep. 8
Comedy writer and producer Robert Carlock's spectacular career includes writing and producing credits on iconic shows such as "Saturday Night Live," "Friends" and "30 Rock." Most recently he co-created the Netflix original series "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,". As a leader in a creative field, Robert doesn't rely on data to make decisions. Instead, he draws largely from his intuition and simply knowing what's going to be funny. And untethering creativity is a lesson all companies and industries ca...
May 17, 2018•30 min•Season 3Ep. 7
Dara Khosrowshahi is CEO of Uber, a company that’s become a household name for transportation. Uber’s dominance hasn’t come without controversy, however. Uber’s reputation as an innovator has often been overshadowed by negative revelations about its culture. In 2017, Dara left his role as CEO of Expedia to take over the reins at Uber from founder Travis Kalanick. His mission: Get the company on the path to cultural reform, profitability and, eventually, IPO. In this episode, Dara and Spencer dis...
May 15, 2018•34 min•Season 3Ep. 6
We revisit our conversation with Eric Holder. Eric knows a thing or two about introspection. In his current role, companies tap the former U.S. Attorney General to ask difficult questions and help businesses improve everything from diversity to how they work with foreign governments. With the democratization of information and the rise of social media, today's leaders and companies can no longer hide behind a great PR team. According to Holder, "Companies can always be introspective in the same ...
May 03, 2018•28 min•Season 3Ep. 5
It’s no wonder Fortune Magazine called Cindy a “tireless force of nature.” She’s the entrepreneur behind the first-ever FDA approved drug to treat decreased libido in women, and she’s built two businesses from the ground up, selling them for over $1.5 billion. After securing FDA approval for ADDYI, dubbed “female Viagra” by numerous media outlets, Cindy founded The Pink Ceiling, an incubator and venture capital firm dedicated to helping women-focused businesses. In this episode, she and Spencer ...
Apr 26, 2018•27 min•Season 3Ep. 4
Arianna Huffington needs little introduction. The author of 15 books, including best-sellers Thrive and The Sleep Revolution, Arianna has been named to Time Magazine’s list of 100 Most Influential People and Forbes’ Most Powerful Women list. In 2016, she stepped down from her namesake Huffington Post (now HuffPost) to launch Thrive Global, which aims to eliminate the stress and burnout that leave so many of us in survival mode. Arianna also joined Uber as its first woman board member, advocating...
Apr 11, 2018•27 min•Season 3Ep. 3
Sukhinder is a serial entrepreneur and longtime technology executive who had stints at both Google and Amazon. In 2015, she founded theBoardlist, a talent marketplace for leaders to find highly qualified women to join their boards. Among startups, 57 percent have no women in executive positions. On boards, more than three-quarters of privately funded tech companies have no women, and the picture is even worse among public companies. In this episode, Sukhinder discusses why the tech community sho...
Mar 15, 2018•23 min•Season 3Ep. 2
Companies that transform our lives with one innovation (like Microsoft Windows) often find it difficult to repeat the same feat because everything - from product to revenue to culture - is built on top of that one big idea. This is the challenge Satya Nadella faced when he took over the reins at Microsoft. How could he ensure that the 43-year-old company seized new opportunities and warded off potential threats? The answer: Build the ability to hit refresh into the culture by focusing on mission...
Mar 01, 2018•31 min•Season 3Ep. 1
Eric Holder knows a thing or two about introspection. In his current role, companies tap the former U.S. Attorney General to ask difficult questions and help businesses improve everything from diversity to how they work with foreign governments. With the democratization of information and the rise of social media, today's leaders and companies can no longer hide behind a great PR team. According to Holder, "Companies can always be introspective in the same way that we can be as individuals and a...
Nov 09, 2017•28 min•Season 2Ep. 11
The companies within Bill Gurley's investment portfolio have some clear similarities: great user-generated content, a reliance on the network effect and a "power to the people" mentality, meaning they put consumers first. But companies don't succeed solely because of their business model or mission - they also need strong leadership. According to Bill, great leaders tend to be unafraid, innately curious and bold. He looks for these qualities in the founder pitching the investment opportunity bec...
Jun 30, 2017•27 min•Season 2Ep. 10
As a founding member of several successful companies (Fog Creek, Trello) in the software development space, you could say that Joel Spolsky knows a bit about developers. On his popular online forum, Stack Overflow, developers ask more than 8,000 questions a day to a community of roughly 40 million developers who visit the site every month. Joel talks about software developers with a reverence normally reserved for philosophers: "Every day, developers get a chance to make a decision that's going ...
Jun 16, 2017•31 min•Season 2Ep. 9
When John MacFarlane and his co-founders started Sonos in 2002, they knew nothing about audio or hardware. They simply had an inspiring mission: Fill every home with music. And they knew that the future of music wasn't CDs - it was wireless, digital and connected. In order to stay competitive in an industry that's changing, you have to lead with disruption and never stop improving, and it's this commitment to continuous improvement that has propelled Sonos to outsell some of the world's biggest ...
Jun 02, 2017•28 min•Season 2Ep. 8
Comedy writer and producer Robert Carlock's spectacular career includes writing and producing credits on iconic shows such as "Saturday Night Live," "Friends" and "30 Rock." Most recently he co-created the Netflix original series "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt," now entering its third season. As a leader in a creative field, Robert doesn't rely on data to make decisions. Instead, he draws largely from his intuition and simply knowing what's going to be funny. And untethering creativity is a lesson a...
May 18, 2017•30 min•Season 2Ep. 7
