FAV SUPERPOWER: Flying. HAPPY PLACE: My home in Palm Springs. PEOPLE DON’T KNOW: I speak four languages—English, German, Spanish, Japanese. DREAM DINNER GUEST: My maternal great-grandmother who migrated to the US from Mexico and passed away at 94 when I was 9 years old. I would love to speak to her as an adult and ask her about her life and experiences. LIFE HACK: Keep a clear inbox (and read your emails). CELEB CRUSH: Trevor Noah.
James Silva
Revolutionizing hospitality with AI innovation
FROM VISION TO REALITY. James Silva knows a thing or two about perseverance. A naturally measured and cautious individual, he founded ConciergeBot in 2017 after much consideration about the right time to begin his journey as an entrepreneur. The passing of his grandmother in 2016 provided the drive he needed to finally launch his company.
ConciergeBot, an AI virtual concierge platform for hospitality and customer service, answers routine guest questions over commonly used communication channels like SMS, WhatsApp, and phone. The idea for ConciergeBot started when James bought a vacation home in Palm Springs and noticed that guests often had the same questions about the rental property. Unable to always respond quickly, he saw an opportunity to create an automated solution that could handle these inquiries efficiently.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, James graduated from Stanford University with a degree in Computer Science. “I graduated just after the dot-com bubble burst and couldn’t get a job. I was really questioning everything that I had chosen to do,” he recalls. Determined to make his career in Silicon Valley, he moved his belongings into a storage unit and crashed with friends until he secured a job at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center as a software engineer.
James’s big break came in 2011 when he joined eBay. Working as a QA engineer and later as a product manager, he gained valuable experience in search engine optimization and international business expansion, helping drive eBay’s Classifieds business expansion into South Africa and Latin America. “That’s really where I got the entrepreneurial bug in me,” he says. “I left eBay in 2016 and really thought about what problems I had in my own life and how I could use my skills to solve them.”
In 2018, James’s mentor encouraged him to apply to the StartOut Growth Lab. “Getting into the Growth Lab gave me the confidence to really step forward and build ConciergeBot as a legitimate business,” he explains. While working as a product manager at Adobe, he continued developing ConciergeBot on the side until he decided to focus on it full-time in 2020. Despite the setback of the COVID-19 pandemic, James’s determination never wavered. He adapted and pivoted by building a bot for a healthcare company, which helped sustain his business during an uncertain time.
OVERCOMING SETBACKS. Throughout his career, James has leaned into his resilience and outlook on learning from failure. “I try to not be afraid to fail, I think about what failure is there to teach me,” he says. This mindset has allowed him to navigate the challenges of entrepreneurship with grace and determination.
Community has always been close to James’s heart, especially within the LGBTQIA+ and Latinx communities. He currently organizes a monthly meetup in LA for Queer Latinxs in Tech, committed to fostering support and connection among underrepresented groups. “I’ve always felt different, and I learned that once you embrace being different, a whole world of possibilities opens up to you,” he shares.
Similarly, James’s advice for first-time founders centers on community. “Build your support network as soon as you can. Don’t be afraid to share your ideas and passions with people.” James recalls that his first customer for ConciergeBot was from within his network, “and that was only because I was brave enough to have that conversation with them.”
Looking ahead, James is optimistic about the future of AI and technology. He envisions a world where AI interfaces become as intuitive and integral to daily life as websites, search engines, and social media are today. “If I can have some part in shaping that—if I can build something unique that becomes a part of how we interact with AI— that would be a great legacy,” he says. “Also, if I can be a role model—if I can pave the way and make that path easier for the next generation— even better.”
