Mark Lawrence is the CEO and Co-Founder of SpotHero, an on-demand parking app and website that makes drivers' lives easier by helping them find and reserve a parking for up to 50% off. Mark along with his co-founders started the company after managing to rack up thousands of dollars in parking tickets. SpotHero is now one of Chicago's bigger consumer startup success stories. They raised $20 million in Series B funding last year, are in 15 cities, and have a team of 120 now.

In This Episode You Will Learn:

Why he and his co-founders started SpotHero
How the product has evolved from the initial idea
How they got their first customers
What was going through his head when competitors were raising massive rounds
Keys to growing a marketplace business
How SpotHero approaches launching in a new city
Why "If it's not a fuck yes, it's a fuck no" when hiring
The benefits of meditation and floatation tanks
Keys to keeping the culture as company grows

Selected Links From The Episode:

TechNexus
Ezra Galston, VC at Chicago Ventures

Favorite Books:

Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time by Howard Schultz
Losing My Virginity: How I Survived, Had Fun, and Made a Fortune Doing Business My Way by Richard Branson
The Virgin Way: If It's Not Fun, It's Not Worth Doing by Richard Branson
Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter by Liz Wiseman
Shogun by James Clavell

Tech In Chicago

Episodes

SpotHero's Mark Lawrence on Building a Marketplace Business, Meditation, & Why If It's Not a Fuck Yes, It's a Fuck No