Posted by In the next episode of our Leadership Lessons series, host Jason Nazar chats with a fellow lifelong entrepreneur with experience building companies and leading high-performing teams. Over the past two decades Brent Handler has been a pioneer, transforming the way people take vacations.
In 2002, Handler co-founded Exclusive Resorts and served as its President until 2009, where he set the standard for the burgeoning destination club industry by delivering tens of thousands of vacations to members worldwide and amassing more than $1 billion in real estate assets. In 2010 – convinced he could improve on the model he helped establish – he co-founded Inspirato (NASDAQ: INSPO), the world’s first luxury travel subscription brand. Providing sophisticated travelers access to a curated collection of exceptional luxury vacation homes, five-star hotel and resort partners, and custom travel experiences, members get personalized service but without the six-figure, upfront fees previously common in the industry.
In addition to sharing the greatest lessons from his 20+ year career, other topics include:
- How to build your business around something you care about.
- Recruiting the right leadership team.
- Hungry people fight over food.
- Diversifying proven channels that rely on core strengths.
- Finding a massive market & attacking it in a defensible way through innovation.
- Delighting customers.
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About The Speakers:
Brent Handler is Co-Founder of Inspirato and has served as its CEO and a member of its Board of Directors since January 2010. Under his leadership, Inspirato established itself as a leading luxury hospitality company that provides access to a managed and controlled portfolio of luxury vacation homes and other vacation options, leveraging an innovative subscription model to ensure the service and certainty that affluent customers demand. In 2019, Handler led the development and launch of Inspirato Pass, the world’s first luxury travel subscription that includes all nightly rates, taxes, and fees. Before co-founding Inspirato, he co-founded Exclusive Resorts and served as its President from 2002 to 2009, where it set the standard for the destination club industry. Mr. Handler holds a B.S. in Business from the University of Colorado.
Jason Nazar is a serial tech entrepreneur, advisor, and investor with two successful exits. He was most recently co-founder/CEO of workplace culture review platform Comparably (acquired by ZoomInfo), and previously co-founder/CEO of Docstoc (acquired by Intuit). Jason was named LA Times’ Top 5 CEOs of Midsize Companies (2020), LA Business Journal’s Most Admired CEOs (2016), and appointed inaugural Entrepreneur in Residence for the city of Los Angeles (2016-2018). He holds a B.A. from the University of California Santa Barbara and his JD and MBA from Pepperdine University. He currently teaches Entrepreneurship as an adjunct professor at UCLA.