In this episode of Office Hours, Spencer speaks with L.A.-based entrepreneur Shiloh Johnson, the CEO and founder of ComplYant, a digital tax assistant tool. The technology platform offers small business owners and entrepreneurs an easy way to handle business taxes. The fintech startup was originally bootstrapped by Johnson, who as a Black female founder thought she'd be overlooked by VCs. Since then, Shiloh raised $5.5M in seed funding through Techstars’ Los Angeles program.

Growing up as the son of a nationally renowned veterinarian, Brandon knows first-hand the importance of having access to experts when your pet is sick. In 2018, Werber launched Airvet, a Beverly Hills-based digital health company for pets. Airvet works with employers and business partners to make sure pet parents get affordable and fast access to virtual vet care via video and chat. (Disclosure: dot.LA co-founder Spencer Rascoff is an investor in Airvet.)

Spencer speaks with Isa Watson, the Founder & CEO of Squad. Watson, author of the upcoming book, "Life Beyond Likes: Logging Off Your Screen and Into Your Life." In the book, she raises awareness around how social media has impacted our daily lives, self-worth, and real life relationships. With so much of our lives lived online, Isa argues, we’ve never been more connected—or disconnected—from what’s most important to us. It’s time to let go of our curated online worlds and get beyond our need for likes. As the founder of Squad, an audio- focused app, Watson created a fun and easy way to stay in touch with your best friends everyday—away from the distractions of traditional social media.

Diankha Linear, CEO of Community, an SMS marketing platform for business, speaks with Spencer in this episode of Office Hours. Ms. Linear was an officer and early executive team member at Convoy, serving as General Counsel and corporate secretary—overseeing one of Seattle’s largest VC transactions with a Series D Round of $400M, among other roles in the startup. Diankha comes from a strategy and leadership background, built on her years of military education and training with the Army and as a Judge Advocate General (JAG) officer.

Ms Linear spent nearly a decade in leadership roles at Nordstrom and Expeditors International of Washington. Her early career was spent at big firm antitrust, complex commercial, constitutional, and employment law counsel. Diankha is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School and the University of Washington. 

Spencer speaks with Sami Inkinen, the CEO and Founder of Virta Health. After winning the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in 2011, the triathlete found out that he was pre-diabetic that same year. Unsatisfied with the conventional wisdom of “exercise more and eat less,” Sami dug into the science of type 2 diabetes, by consulting experts on the science of carbohydrate restriction and metabolic health. Seeking to raise awareness about the dangers of sugar, Inkinen and his wife rowed across the Pacific Ocean for 45 days—completely unsupported—from California to Hawaii for 2,750 miles. While on that journey, the idea for Virta was born. His personal mantra on that trip was "Use Sisu, not Sugar"—with the Finnish concept of Stoicism, tenacity, and grit, as determination to help himself and others reverse their diagnoses. 

Virta is an app-based, health technology start-up that offers treatment to reverse type 2 diabetes without surgery, allowing patients to work with medical providers and health coaches on a nearly real-time basis. Virta’s approach helps patients get off of all diabetes-specific medications while achieving sub-diabetic HbA1c (blood sugar)—in 60% of patients who complete one-year of the Virta Treatment. Of those patients prescribed insulin, 94% reduce or fully-eliminate usage. 

Previously, Inkinen was the co-founder of real estate marketplace Trulia, serving as its COO and president and board member until its IPO and sale to Zillow Group. Sami is also an active angel investor in healthcare. Inkinen started his career as a radiochemist at a nuclear power plant. He holds a Master of Science in engineering physics from the Helsinki University of Technology, and a Master of Business Administration from Stanford University.  (Disclosure: dot.LA co-founder Spencer Rascoff is an investor in Virta.)

Julia Boorstin is CNBC’s Senior Media & Tech Correspondent and has been an on-air reporter for the network since 2006. She also plays a central role on CNBC’s bicoastal tech-focused program “TechCheck” delivering reporting, analysis, and CEO interviews with a focus on social media and the intersection of media and technology. In 2013, Boorstin created and launched the CNBC Disruptor 50, an annual list she oversees, highlighting private companies transforming the economy and challenging companies in established industries. She also helped launch the network’s ‘Closing the Gap’ initiative covering the people and companies closing gender and diversity gaps.

Boorstin speaks with Spencer in this fireside chat recorded at the third annual dot.LA Summit, held on October 20 at The Petersen Automotive Museum located in Los Angeles. Julia’s new book When Women Lead: What They Achieve, Why They Succeed, and How We Can Learn from Them, profiles female entrepreneurs and businesswomen and draws lessons and inspiration from their stories.

A graduate of Princeton University, Boorstin has been a reporter for Fortune magazine, as well as a contributor to CNN and CNN Headline News. She was also an intern for Vice President Gore’s domestic policy office. She lives in L.A. with her husband and two sons.

Tricia Han, the head of MyFitnesesPal speaks with Spencer about her journey from being a Product Manager to becoming a CEO in this episode of Office Hours. MyFitnessPal is a leading health and wellness tech brand, whose popular mobile app allows users to track their daily food intake. Tricia talks about the differences of working in East Coast tech vs West Coast tech, heading a start-up through a change management process, and the importance of representation in the tech space. Tricia also shares some suprising data points logged from L.A. users of the app. 

Prior to MyFitnessPal, Tricia was the Chief Product Officer of Care.com, a U.S. marketplace connecting families and caregivers, CEO of Daily Burn, a fitness tech brand, and Chief Product Officer at Dotdash, all operating businesses of IAC. Her professional experience also includes leading product management teams at a variety of technology companies and start-ups including WebMD, DailyCandy, and Vindigo. Han earned her Bachelor of Arts from Cornell University.