Spencer Rascoff
Spencer Rascoff | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 24, 1975 United States |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, business executive |
| Known for | Co-founder and former CEO of Zillow Group, co-founder of Hotwire.com, CEO of Match Group |
Spencer Rascoff (born October 24, 1975) is a prominent American entrepreneur and business executive. He is a co-founder and former CEO of Zillow Group and also co-established Hotwire.com. Additionally, Rascoff held a position on the board of directors at Palantir.
Early life and education
Rascoff was raised in New York and Los Angeles by his parents, Jane and Joseph Rascoff. His father was involved in managing tours for renowned bands such as The Rolling Stones and U2. Rascoff attended Harvard-Westlake before earning his degree from Harvard University in 1997.
Career
Following his graduation, Rascoff began his professional journey in private equity with TPG Capital and later worked in investment banking at Goldman Sachs.
Hotwire.com
At the age of 24, Rascoff co-launched Hotwire.com, an online travel service that was eventually acquired by InterActiveCorp for $685 million. He subsequently took on the role of vice president of lodging at Expedia prior to co-founding Zillow.
Zillow
Before ascending to CEO in 2010, Rascoff served as COO, CFO, and vice president of marketing at Zillow. Under his leadership, the company completed its IPO in 2011 and executed 15 acquisitions. In 2017, the Swanepoel Power 200 recognized him as "The Most Powerful Person in Residential Real Estate." Rascoff resigned as CEO in February 2019 and left Zillow’s board in April 2020.
dot.la
In January 2020, Rascoff co-founded dot.la, a news platform dedicated to covering California’s technology startup ecosystem. After several years, the organization underwent significant downsizing and transitioned to delivering content via a weekly newsletter.
Pacaso
Together with Austin Allison, Rascoff co-founded Pacaso in October 2020. This real estate platform aims to facilitate shared ownership of second homes as an alternative to conventional timeshare arrangements. However, it has encountered certain legal and community opposition related to its business model.
Recon Food
In June 2021, Rascoff launched Recon Food alongside his daughter, Sophia Rascoff. The application utilizes technology to detect and upload users’ food photographs from their device galleries onto the platform.
Match Group
In February 2025, the board of directors appointed Rascoff as Chief Executive Officer of Match Group.
Other ventures
Rascoff co-authored Zillow Talk: Rewriting the Rules of Real Estate in 2015. In 2020, he held the position of Visiting Executive Professor at Harvard Business School, where he helped develop and co-instruct the “Managing Tech Ventures” course.