Elvina Beck

Elvina Beck is an American entrepreneur, councilwoman, and videographer. She is known for founding Californian coliving company PodShare[2][3], where she also serves as CEO.[2]

Elvina Beck
Born1985 (age 34–35)[1]
Moscow, USSR
NationalityAmerican
EducationPepperdine University
OccupationEntrepreneur
WebsiteOfficial website

Early life and education

Beck was born in Moscow, USSR in 1985[1]. In 1990, when the wall fell, Beck emigrated to Brooklyn, New York City with her parents, Elvira and Antony[3][4]. After an initial period of support from the Russian community in Brooklyn (a period which Beck has credited as formative in her positive views of community and sharing[5]), the family moved to Livingston, New Jersey. Beck was educated at Livingston High School[6][7], and Pepperdine University, Malibu, graduating in Political Science in 2008[6][5].

Early acting and modeling career

From her late teens, Beck worked as a model[6] and actress[8], with her roles including CSI: NY[9] and commercials for Skechers, Wells Fargo, Xbox, Yoplait, and Apple (iPhone 5 manual).

More recently, Beck appeared as herself in a 2020 video story produced by the United States Census Bureau, highlighting her advocacy for affordable housing[10].

Transition to videography

In her early twenties, growing disaffected with the lack of control over her career that she felt as an actress and model, Beck taught herself how to operate a camera and to edit video.[4] In her career as a camera operator, Beck has worked for, among others, Randi Zuckerberg, Avril Lavigne and Maxim Magazine.[11]

PodShare
Main article: PodShare

In 2012, recognizing the lack of available, short-term housing for freelancers and transitioners[12], Beck co-founded coliving company PodShare with her father[13].

The company opened its first location in Hollywood[14], Los Angeles, and has since added locations in Los Feliz[14], Arts District[15], Venice Beach[14] and Westwood[14] in that city. In July 2019, PodShare opened its first location outside of Los Angeles in Tendernob, San Francisco, California.[14]

PodShare has flexible residency, and a floorplan that excludes privacy and forces interactions between guests, which Beck calls "collisions".[1][16][17][14]

Other pursuits

Since 2015, Beck has served as President of the Central Hollywood Neighborhood Council. In 2019, she was re-elected to serve a second 4-year term.[18]

Beck is an advocate for the unsheltered homeless of Los Angeles[19]. In recognition of her ongoing non-profit work to improve the lives of the homeless, as well as the success of her startup PodShare in addressing urban affordability, Beck received the 2020 Stratiscope Impact Makers Award at Los Angeles City Hall on January 29, 2020.[20]

References
  1. Anna Bahney (July 5, 2019). "This bunk bed is $1,200 a month, privacy not included". CNN Business. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  2. Shawna Kenney (December 6, 2019). "No sex in the bunkbeds! Tales from the most intimate sharing economy startup yet". The Guardian. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  3. "Meet Elvina Beck of Podshare in Los Angeles". Voyage LA. April 17, 2020. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  4. "About Elvina Beck". Elvina Beck. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  5. Gareen Darakjian (March 24, 2018). "Pepperdine Newsroom: House//Home". Pepperdine University. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  6. "Elvina Beck's personal Facebook page". Facebook. 2016. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  7. Danielle Santola (June 29, 2016). "Livingston Native's Startup Company PodShare is a Hit in California". TAP Into Livingston. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  8. "Elvina Beck, IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  9. "CSI:NY, Season 2, Episode 21". IMDb. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  10. "Meet Elvina, Shaping the Future of Housing". US Census, 2020. February 11, 2020. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  11. "WonderWomenTech Speaker Profile of Elvina Beck". WonderWomenTech. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  12. "The Hometown Tour: Los Angeles". Axios. June 24, 2019. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  13. Nadja Sayej (March 28, 2016). "In Pod-Based Community Living, Rent Is Cheap, But Sex Is Banned". Vice. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  14. Nita Lelyveld (October 12, 2019). "Why are these L.A. people sleeping in stacked pods? It's not just the cost of housing". LA Times. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  15. "PodShare Neighborhoods: DTLA". PodShare. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  16. Peter Kiefer (December 22, 2019). "Don't Say Dorms: L.A. Millennials Go Communal for Budget, Ease and Socializing". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  17. Zachary Kussin (July 8, 2019). "These bunk beds rent for $1.2K a month — ramen and toilet paper included". New York Post. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  18. "Central Hollywood General Board, Executive Team and their Committees". CHNC. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  19. Nita Lelyveld (October 19, 2019). "They came to L.A. to chase a Hollywood dream. Two weeks later, they were homeless". LA Times. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  20. John Bwarie (January 20, 2020). "32 Community Impact-Makers Honored at LA City Hall". Stratiscope. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
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