Today we’d like to introduce you to Josh Gray-Emmer.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I’ve always been a social person, so the journey to where I’ve gotten today is really just a series of adventures with some amazing friends and colleagues. Those adventures first took off at the age of 13 when Robert Redford invited me and twenty of my friends to The Sundance Film Festival. It was here that I fell in love with the entertainment industry, and with the generosity of The Festival, the various studios, the guilds and some incredible mentors, I was able to write and produce my first film which premiered there when I was 18.
After attending The USC School of Cinema Television and working for several years in feature film development at Landmark Entertainment I was struck with the entrepreneurial spirit that would stay with me for the rest of my life. I dropped everything I had been saving into a new venture, inspired again by The Sundance Film Festival and started AirParty, parties on airplanes for executives and celebrities. In the post 911 world, AirParty morphed into AP Consulting, helping the same companies (Comcast, E! Entertainment, Skyy Vodka, Microsoft, etc.) promote their brands at large scale experiential events on the ground.
In 2002, my life would be forever altered when I moved to downtown Los Angeles. I never actually intend to stay. I had always been a suburban valley guy and the idea of living in a grungy old building in a deserted neighborhood was unappealing. I could not have been more wrong. What I unexpectedly found in DTLA was community, a group of urban pioneers with passion and creativity. I loved it. I was home.
I was lucky enough to be invited to join boards at The Central City Association and The Historic Downtown Business Improvement District where I would meet the neighborhood’s building owners and power brokers. AP Consulting became DTLA Consulting so that we could meet the needs of a new growing metropolis. Over the next 10 years we would, through countless events, brand, market and leases dozens of new adaptive reuse residential towers. It was the perfect way to get to know all the incoming residents.
In 2010, I bought my dream home at The El Dorado Lofts above Spring Street Park. My private rooftop became the home of The DTLA Dinner Club, where for the next five years, I would host, multi-course dinners for 30 guests every Wednesday night. It was free and open to anyone who lived nearby. Around the same time, I began using my contacts to create The DTLA Resident Program, a card that offered discounts and perks to people who lived in the neighborhood. At its core, it was really just another way for me to get to know people and bring my community together. However, it caught the eye of a tech startup just a few blocks away who invited me to try out their product, and then later offered me a position there.
In 2013, I joined NationBuilder, it would be the first time I had worked for someone else in over a decade. It was a blast, I met a ton of wonderful people and got a chance to experience the tech industry from the inside, but at my core, I’m still an entrepreneur. I left the company after a year to start BridGE, a community engagement service that specializes in helping NationBuilder customers succeed, and the company made me the DTLA Advisor to their board. Since I can now work from anywhere, I sold everything I owned, rented out my loft, and spent 2016 living on the beach in Bali. Now back in LA, I still plan on traveling extensively over the next few years.
Everyday, I get to help companies I believe in interact with the people I love in the neighborhoods that I’m passionate about.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Nothing fun and rewarding is ever easy. It’s been years of hard work and struggle to get where I am today. From financial difficulties to broken contracts, being an entrepreneur is littered with life lessons, but for me, it’s worth every minute.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with BridGE – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
BridGE is the culmination of all the other businesses and adventures that I’ve had over the years. It combines the things I love, data, technology, branding, marketing, events and community to help organizations reach the people that matter to them, and call them to action. With an opt-in list of almost 100,000 Angelinos, BridGE specializes in helping developers, nonprofits, politicians and PACs engage their constituents and make meaningful connections.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
As BridGE expands its presence in Los Angeles, we’re working with partners and sponsors to expand The DTLA Dinner Club and reach more people. Angelinos can join The DTLA Dinner Club for free at www.DTLADinnerClub.com. In addition, I look forward to working with The Los Angeles Natural History Museum to introduce the downtown community to their incredible Seaver Center, a repository for all the amazing historical artifacts of LA. I became aware of their work while researching my collection of original pre-1930s street level maps of Los Angeles. My collection is currently on display at The Biltmore Tower and soon online at www.DTLAMaps.com.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.BridGEDTLA.com
- Phone: 213-805-8140
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dtlajosh/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joshgrayemmer
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/joshgrayemmer
- Other: http://www.DTLADinnerClub.com
Image Credit:
Gary Leonard
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
