May 15, 2017

Meet Neel Sodha of Downtown LA Walking Tours

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Neel Sodha.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I grew up in Anaheim and went to Indiana University to complete my Bachelors and Master’s degrees in Accounting & Finance. In my MBA Accounting program, we were given an internship work experience in a European country. My team was picked to go to London, England. While there, we were living in the middle of the City, and taking the London Underground to work, pubs, restaurants and entertainment. It was at this point I started thinking “why can’t I do this in LA?”. Then, I started researching what happened to LA’s development from the 1800’s to today. I got a keen sense of urban planning and it piqued my interest.

I did complete my MBA Accounting program in 2005 and worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers and Colony Capital, LLC. In my off time, I would volunteer at LA Union Station and provided guests on directions on how to visit LA attractions on foot or via Metro. People would ask me “how to walk to this, what’s this about, etc…”. Then, I decided to venture into entrepreneurship and created Downtown LA Walking Tours.

Downtown LA Walking Tours started as a side business, but it eventually got increased demand. Thus, I left the accounting profession and now I give tours full-time since 2015. The Company has grown to 7 tour guides offering 10 unique tours of Downtown Los Angeles.

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?
Well, LA is not known to be a “walker’s paradise”. We still get some guests who will meet us for a tour and quickly ask “so where’s the bus?”.

Walking tours, especially in Downtown LA, was not a well-known activity. Though we had preservation groups provide them throughout the years, they were not intended for a visitor who just wants to see tourist attractions. So not only was I trying to create a new tour Company for Los Angeles, but also to help change the perception of walking in Los Angeles.

We are still working on changing the “walk in LA” mentality. However, it has not affected our momentum. In fact, it’s gone the other way as guests, especially after visiting other cities, want to do walking tours in our City as well! Thus, we are helping to fill a void that LA could use to show, “Yes, we are a walking City as well!”.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
Downtown LA Walking Tours provides daily guided walking tours of Downtown Los Angeles and its neighborhoods. We walk the City, step inside world-class monuments, tell stories and experience the architecture of the City of Angels.

We specialize in Downtown LA with its rich history and culture. We discuss how neighborhoods have transformed in the past and the current renaissance in the city center. There is a lot of interest from locals and visitors alike on the changes happening in the neighborhood, and we are there to help our guests understand why/how things change.

We are most proud of the fact that guests walk away feeling they were entertained and learned something. Our tours are done in story formats, because we feel people enjoy listening to stories and can remember those details for a greater period of time.

We use iPads to show not just photos, but clips. Surprisingly, that sets us apart from a lot of other tour companies who have not taken advantage of advanced technologies in today’s world.

What were you like growing up?
I was always fascinated in how cities evolve. I was more interested in going on holidays in urban centers (large or small) than traveling to an exotic location. I strive to understand the ‘heart of a city’ and how/why cities evolve. There’s a reason behind how everything happens.

My living experience in London, England really energized that aspect of my urban interest. I’m also a huge fan of urban Metro rail systems. Watching the LA Metro grow over the last 25 years has been breathtaking. Watching the City develop around our new modern rail system of light rail, subway and commuter rail has been fascinating. Though I appreciate cities with established systems, it’s fun watching a culture change in front of your eyes. And it’s happening, right here, in Los Angeles!

Pricing: