Office Hours with Spencer Rascoff

Latest Episodes:

For Beauty Counter Founder, Gregg Renfrew, It's Not Just Makeup, It's A Movement Jan 07, 2021

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A free-flowing conversation packed with entrepreneurial lessons with serial entrepreneur, Beauty Counter founder, Gregg Renfrew. Hear what to look for in an investor, ideas about scaling, her passion for multi-channel business -- and why people should get rid of non-stick pans.

Cameo's Custom-Crafted Celebrity Videos Is The New Autograph Dec 17, 2020

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Cameo's highly-anticipated 2017 launch tanked. Its only talent was furious. But the startup persisted, and through grit has grown massively. Hear Steven Galanis, founder and CEO of Cameo, share the colorful story of the young company's turnaround, how Galanis breaks down the best way to handle employee dysfunction and how he built up Cameo's roster of tens of thousands of celebrities and influencers ready to send custom-crafted messages.

Bill Gurley Drops Knowledge: Startups, Venture Capital And Scaling Dec 03, 2020

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Bill Gurley, Legendary Silicon Valley venture capitalist, is a general partner at Benchmark and famously known for investing early in trailblazing companies including Uber, GrubHub, my company, Zillow and so many others. Hear a conversation he and I had at the recent dot.LA Summit where we discuss marketplace-based companies, how work-from-home will accelerate business opportunity and why startups, though they might be attached to their autonomy, should pick up the phone when a big company calls. Plus, hear his thoughtful take on big tech and antitrust.

The Chainsmokers Grow Into Venture Capitalists Nov 12, 2020

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Huge musical success is not enough for the electronic musical group, The Chainsmokers, made of Alex Pall and Drew Taggart. As part of their hunger to grow and learn, they've started their VC firm, Mantis, where they focus on investing in Seed and Series A startups. Hear about how they see the similarities between building startups and making music, the value add they give to companies beyond their fame and reach, how they write their songs and the why behind what might be considered a controversial move -- selling their music catalog.

Lessons Learned During Zulily's Rocketship Rise Oct 29, 2020

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How tough is it to infuse a retail website with entirely new products every day? Very. Nonetheless, that's what Zulily, an ecommerce site that sells unique retail brands primarily to women, did when it went live in 2010. Ultimately, Zulily sold for $2.4 billion in 2015. Hear Darrell Cavens, founder and former CEO of Zulily, Spencer and Harvard Professor Jeffrey Rayport discuss the why behind Zulily's astonishing success and some granular lessons learned born of a company that grew incredibly big incredibly fast.

Turnaround Expert, Brad Stewart, On The Next Steps At Fair Oct 15, 2020

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It's not easy to turn around a company. But some executives seek out that challenge. An experienced turnaround expert, Brad Stewart is the relatively new CEO of Fair, an app to lease used, affordable cars for as long as desired. Brad started out in management consulting before becoming CEO of then-struggling XO Jet. After seven successful years at XO Jet, Brad now brings to Fair a wealth of experience. Hear his insight on the steps he takes to fix companies, the unique issues facing Fair and the plan he's putting into action to help the company thrive.

How Outer Aims to Disrupt the Outdoor Furniture Industry Oct 01, 2020

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Years of work experience, largely solving business problems for his family, gave Jiake Liu a fundamental understanding of how to run a successful business. It also fed his entrepreneurial thirst and ultimately led to his cofounding and leading Outer, an outdoor furniture and lifestyle company. Hear some hard-earned lessons from Jiake about startups, his Shark Tank pitch day experience and how he maintains investor relationships even if they pass on investing -- like Spencer did.

Online Retailer, Behold, Uses AI To Craft Bespoke Outfits Sep 17, 2020

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Too many fashion options is a pain point Terry Boyle, cofounder and CEO of Behold, aims to solve with his newly launched retail platform. Hear how Terry, who's been in fashion tech for over ten years with most of that time spent at the venerable Nordstroms, is competitively positioning and running his trailblazing company.

All Voices Allows Employees To Share Feedback Anonymously Sep 03, 2020

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Inspired in the midst of the MeToo awakening, Claire Schmidt founded All Voices. It's a platform that allows employees to anonymously share feedback with company administration without fear of reprisal. Hear Schmidt, CEO, share the problems All Voices is trying to solve, how the communication process works -- and an early lesson learned that forced All Voices to quickly make a radical pivot. And yes, All Voices uses All Voices!

GoodRx Makes Unpredictable Prescription Drug Prices More Affordable Aug 20, 2020

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On a mission to improve healthcare for every American, by offering steeply discounted prescription drugs, Doug Hirsch, cofounder and CEO of GoodRx, speaks with Spencer about how he built the business with a slow and steady attitude, how paranoia keeps him on his toes -- and why naivete is an entrepreneurial strength.