The idea for Zillow emerged from recognizing the lack of transparency in the real estate market, where basic information like home prices was hard to find online.

At Zillow, we built a PR data distribution infrastructure to feed local newspapers with housing data, capitalizing on the constant demand for housing news, which helped establish our brand without spending on traditional advertising.

In pursuit of price discovery, we discovered the Zestimate, which became our killer feature, providing real-time estimated values for homes, akin to a stock chart, appealing to homeowners who care deeply about their largest asset.

The realization that our technology could work for both hobbyists and enterprises was pivotal when we received an email from Zillow about rewriting everything on top of Next.js.

When we launched Zillow, millions of users flocked to the site due to positive press from influential tech journalist Walt Mossberg, but our server crashed under the traffic, leading to a memorable headline about our popularity.

Rezi is a rental marketplace aimed at improving the renting experience for landlords and tenants.

During our time at Y Combinator, we pivoted to focus on eliminating the risk of vacancy for landlords, offering them a compelling solution.

I believe the product is the most important part of the marketing mix; when we launched Zillow, we focused on creating a provocative feature that would generate discussion and interest.

The application and search processes for rentals need to be elevated through technology, reducing human interaction to streamline experiences.