Late last year, Spencer Rascoff, the former CEO of Zillow, reached out and invited me to be part of a new advisory board for his latest real estate start-up, Pacaso. I knew Spencer when he was at Zillow and we kept in touch over the years. I don’t sit on many advisory boards, but I thought the idea behind Pacaso was pretty cool and I agreed to participate. In a nutshell, Pacaso makes second homeownership more accessible by allowing buyers to purchase shares in a vacation home rather than having to purchase the entire property. It works like this: Pacaso purchases the home, then sells ownership shares of a limited liability company to up to eight individuals who share ownership and occupy the property at different times, proportionately. Pacaso manages the properties including moving in and out the personal property of each owner when they stay in the property. Financing is available, and a buyer can purchase a share of a $3.2M property in markets like Napa Valley, Park City, Malibu, and Palm Springs for as little as $400K. Potentially, this can make second homeownership much more attainable for a lot of people.
Spencer started the company with Dotloop founder Austin Allison who serves as the company’s CEO. The latest round of financing valued the company at roughly $1 Billion, making it the fastest company in U.S. history to achieve so-called unicorn status. Pacaso says that second homes sit vacant more than 90% of the time, while Pacaso properties are occupied year-round, which is safer for communities, and more supportive of local businesses such as restaurants, grocery stores, and beauty salons. It makes a lot of sense. The biggest challenge for Pacaso is convincing local residents and municipalities that they are not a timeshare company or just another Airbnb. I recently spoke at a city council meeting on behalf of the company and did my best to make the case that Pacaso lowers barriers for buyers, improves local economies, and adds diversity to communities that are not always known for it. Pacaso also lists their properties on the MLS and pays commissions to real estate agents.
Besides supporting what I think is a good business, I’m enjoying watching two elite entrepreneurs build a world-class start-up. These guys know how to play at the big table, but I can also tell you that Austin and Spencer have an appealing combination of intelligence and humility. They are both young and incredibly successful, but always seem to be eager to listen and learn. I have no doubt that Pacaso will continue to be successful and I look forward to helping out.
There is no shortage of data showing the impact Latinos are having on the U.S. economy, from GDP and entrepreneurship to workforce participation and homeownership. So why hasn’t that growth translated into the kind of economic and political power our numbers suggest it should? In this episode, I focus on two things we can actually control: building wealth and owning our narrative. Cultural influence matters, but ownership is what turns influence into lasting power. And if we want the next generation to inherit more than momentum, we need a strategy for converting our work ethic, growth, and economic contributions into the institutions and assets that shape this country.
The World Cup reminded the world just how magnetic Hispanic and Latino culture can be. In this episode, I talk about why that popularity is more than a cultural victory—it is an economic opportunity hiding in plain sight. From music, food, sports, and fashion to the global appeal of our biggest stars, our culture already has the power to shape markets and influence how people see us. The question now is whether our business and political leaders are ready to turn that momentum into capital, representation, and lasting power. This is a moment we cannot afford to waste.
The World Cup gave Hispanics and Latinos an extraordinary global stage, but the opportunity goes far beyond sports. In this episode, I look at how cultural influence can shape perception, attract investment, and ultimately create economic power. South Korea understood this decades ago and built a global strategy around making its culture impossible to ignore. Now, the world has seen the energy, pride, and creativity of our community on its biggest stage. The question is whether we recognize the value of that moment and build something lasting from it.