# J. Scott Zimmerman

> J. Scott Zimmerman is the CEO and co-founder of Xola, a San Francisco-based SaaS platform that powers booking, back-office management, and marketing for tour and activity operators worldwide. A licensed physician who completed a neurology residency at Stanford, Zimmerman chose Stanford precisely for its proximity to Silicon Valley, coding in Python during spare hospital moments - sometimes until 2am - while simultaneously building the company that would become Xola. He founded Xola in fall 2011 after recognizing that real-time technology had transformed flight, hotel, and car rental reservations, but the $135 billion tours-and-activities market remained largely undigitized. Backed by investors including Rakuten Travel, Michael Burry (of 'The Big Short' fame), and Google Analytics co-creators Scott and Brett Crosby, Xola has grown to serve thousands of operators across North America, Western Europe, and beyond.

- **Role:** CEO & Co-Founder at Xola
- **Organizations:** Xola
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** BA, Economics, Columbia University, MD, Brown Medical School, Neurology Residency, Stanford University Medical Center
- **Known for:** Built and scaled Xola to serve thousands of tour and activity operators across North America, Western Europe, and globally, Raised $6.8M total funding including $5M Series A led by Rakuten Travel, Attracted high-profile investors including Michael Burry and Google Analytics co-creators Scott and Brett Crosby

## Career timeline

- **1998-2000** — Senior Financial Analyst at The Related Companies
- **2008** — Began neurology residency at Stanford University Medical Center; began learning to code in Python
- **2008-2011** — Coded for Stanford genomics lab and structural MRI analysis lab during residency; built Facebook app mining congressional vote data
- **2011** — Founded Xola in San Francisco with co-founder Anush Ramani
- **2014** — Raised $1.8M angel round (investors include Michael Burry, Scott & Brett Crosby of Google Analytics)
- **2016** — Raised $5M Series A led by Rakuten Travel; expanded to Asian markets
- **2018** — Launched Xola App Store - travel industry's first app marketplace for in-destination tour providers
- **2020** — Published 'The Weapon to Win the War Against COVID-19' on Medium
- **2011-present** — CEO of Xola, serving thousands of tour and activity operators globally

## Achievements

- Built and scaled Xola to serve thousands of tour and activity operators across North America, Western Europe, and globally
- Raised $6.8M total funding including $5M Series A led by Rakuten Travel
- Attracted high-profile investors including Michael Burry and Google Analytics co-creators Scott and Brett Crosby
- Achieved 500% company growth over two consecutive years before Series A
- Launched travel industry's first app marketplace for in-destination tour and activity providers (2018)
- Completed neurology residency at Stanford while simultaneously learning to code and building a startup
- Held medical license as a licensed physician while running a software company

## Latest updates

- **2020-04** — Published essay 'The Weapon to Win the War Against COVID-19' on Medium
- **2018-09** — Launched Xola App Store - travel industry's first app marketplace for tour and activity providers
- **2016-04** — Raised $5M Series A led by Rakuten Travel; total funding reached $6.8M
- **2016-01** — Last recorded funding round date per data sources

## Links

- Website: https://xola.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/j-scott-zimmerman-31029a4
- Twitter/X: http://twitter.com/xola
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGxcMz71Kgk
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Xola

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/scott-zimmerman
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-11