Kennedy Wilson broker Justin Weiss, 35, began hosting his No Networking Allowed Young Downtown Party in 2008 for friends working in the area who were bored of networking events that felt like job interviews. His parties had just one rule: “We’re not going to talk business.” The semi-regular events now attract hundreds and are hosted by Weiss and fellow downtown boosters Mitch Carricart, Paul Vizcaino, and Nicolo Rusconi, who call themselves LaunchDTLA.
The latest installment, last month at the 71 Above restaurant atop the U.S. Bank Tower, hosted 600 revelers drinking wine, beer, and cocktails while ogling L.A.’s twinkly skyline from the 71st floor. Choosing a striking location at a restaurant still in soft-opening mode was intentional.
“We only do the best that downtown has to offer,” Weiss said. “Our guests are the first to step foot in the establishment.”
Over the years, the parties have ushered in the openings of downtown hot spots such as the JW Marriott/Ritz Carlton, Perch, and the now-defunct Doheny – with the venues paying all costs in return for exposure to the trendsetting crowd.
Guests must be invited personally but velvet-rope exclusivity is not the goal. Weiss welcomes guests from all types of downtown business sectors, spanning politics, finance, law, hospitality, and entertainment.
Although he is still scoping out sites for the next party, perhaps in the Arts District, Weiss knows one thing for sure: The bash will be on a Thursday night.
“People will let lose after work,” he said. “And even if they have too many drinks than they should on a school night, it’s no big deal, because Friday is the next day.”
On Run
There he goes again.
Bryce Maddock, chief executive of Santa Monica customer service startup TaskUs, was gearing up to compete in a half Ironman in Mooloolaba, Australia, on Sept. 4. It would be his ninth half Ironman (he’s completed one full one) in locations as far flung as Panama; Canada; China; and the Philippines, where he competed last year.
“This morning I started with a two-hour swim in the ocean,” Maddock said last week, adding that he awakes each day at 5 a.m. “It’s just the greatest way to start the day. Now, I show up in the office and I’ve got my complete attention on the day.”
Competing in triathlons is the perfect way to balance the intellectual demands of building a fast-growing company, he said.
“The intensity of working at a rapidly growing business as a CEO can only be balanced by something of equal intensity,” Maddock said. “For some people that’s their golf game, for others maybe that’s a passion of food or wine or reading. For me it happens to be the triathlon.”
Ironman triathlons consist of a 2.4-mile open-water swim, a 112-mile bicycle ride and a 26.2-mile marathon run. The first full Ironman Maddock competed in was in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho, in 100-degree-plus heat.
“It was the hardest thing I had done in my life,” he said, noting the marathon portion of the event was particularly difficult. Still, he said he made friends with other competitors, which is one of his favorite parts of competing in Ironmans.
“It’s a really type-A driven organization of athletes,” he said. “From a business perspective, it has been really fantastic to have this network.”
Staff reporters Daina Beth Solomon and Garrett Reim contributed to this
column. Page 3 is compiled by Editor Jonathan Diamond. He can be reached at [email protected].
