Spencer Rascoff

Because a lot of the inaccuracies of those earliest estimates were because of incorrect property data that we got from public record information. So we slowed things down to build that feature where people could claim and edit their home. And I think that was a worthwhile delay. And so I use that as an example.

Because a lot of the inaccuracies of those earliest estimates were because of incorrect property data that we got from public record information. So we slowed things down to build that feature where people could claim and edit their home. And I think that was a worthwhile delay. And so I use that as an example.

There are many products out there where perhaps there's one or two features that just delaying for a little longer might make sense, even though in general, you want to get your MVP out there as quickly as you can.

There are many products out there where perhaps there's one or two features that just delaying for a little longer might make sense, even though in general, you want to get your MVP out there as quickly as you can.

The iPhone had been out for a year and everybody had one or everyone at our company had one, but there were no apps on the early iPhone. It's hard to imagine that today, but the only apps on the first iPhones were the Apple apps. So you had mail, you had text, you had calendar, you had stocks, you had weather. And that was about it, calculator. And that was it, there were no apps.

The iPhone had been out for a year and everybody had one or everyone at our company had one, but there were no apps on the early iPhone. It's hard to imagine that today, but the only apps on the first iPhones were the Apple apps. So you had mail, you had text, you had calendar, you had stocks, you had weather. And that was about it, calculator. And that was it, there were no apps.

And I remember sitting at my desk and watching Steve Jobs at WWDC, the Worldwide Developer Conference of Apple, announcing that they were going to create an app store and they were going to let third-party developers, people like Zillow, build apps that people could then download in the app store. And I was floored. I stood up from my desk.

And I remember sitting at my desk and watching Steve Jobs at WWDC, the Worldwide Developer Conference of Apple, announcing that they were going to create an app store and they were going to let third-party developers, people like Zillow, build apps that people could then download in the app store. And I was floored. I stood up from my desk.

I ran over to my co-founder and said, we need to pivot the whole company to mobile. This is going to change everything because this is when you want Zillow, is when you're untethered from your desk. It's when you're driving around looking at houses. It's when you're walking around a neighborhood. It's when you're at a cocktail party at someone's house. That's when you want Zillow.

I ran over to my co-founder and said, we need to pivot the whole company to mobile. This is going to change everything because this is when you want Zillow, is when you're untethered from your desk. It's when you're driving around looking at houses. It's when you're walking around a neighborhood. It's when you're at a cocktail party at someone's house. That's when you want Zillow.

It's not when you're at your desk. It's when you're away from your desk. And so if this can work on a smartphone through an app, oh my God. By the end of the week, we had changed the name of the company from Zillow.com to just Zillow because .com really denotes a website. And I felt strongly that we were not a website anymore. We were a service, which was going to be mobile first.

It's not when you're at your desk. It's when you're away from your desk. And so if this can work on a smartphone through an app, oh my God. By the end of the week, we had changed the name of the company from Zillow.com to just Zillow because .com really denotes a website. And I felt strongly that we were not a website anymore. We were a service, which was going to be mobile first.

I had announced to the company that every product and design meeting had to start with mobile screenshots. And anyone that showed desktop screenshots before mobile screenshots, the meeting would just be ended right at that moment. I think I only had to do that once or twice.

I had announced to the company that every product and design meeting had to start with mobile screenshots. And anyone that showed desktop screenshots before mobile screenshots, the meeting would just be ended right at that moment. I think I only had to do that once or twice.

where I would just walk out of a meeting and declare the meeting over, and people learned pretty quick that we were going to be a mobile-first company. And within a couple months, we had the first version of the Zillow iPhone app out. And I was right. We have three things that were special. Number one, as I already said, the consumer wanted to use our app on mobile. Number two, we had...

where I would just walk out of a meeting and declare the meeting over, and people learned pretty quick that we were going to be a mobile-first company. And within a couple months, we had the first version of the Zillow iPhone app out. And I was right. We have three things that were special. Number one, as I already said, the consumer wanted to use our app on mobile. Number two, we had...

much less competition on mobile than on desktop because the real estate brokerage companies that had decent websites that we competed with, they were nowhere on mobile. So it was a much better competitive landscape for us. And number three, you sort of alluded to this, we actually monetized on mobile in a way that most other companies didn't.

much less competition on mobile than on desktop because the real estate brokerage companies that had decent websites that we competed with, they were nowhere on mobile. So it was a much better competitive landscape for us. And number three, you sort of alluded to this, we actually monetized on mobile in a way that most other companies didn't.

So if you think of Facebook, for example, when they went public, half of their usage was on mobile and they had never run an ad on mobile before. And that's why the Facebook IPO was such a debacle because it was unclear how they were going to monetize on mobile. And with a small screen on mobile, there's less real estate, no pun intended to pop up ads or whatever.

So if you think of Facebook, for example, when they went public, half of their usage was on mobile and they had never run an ad on mobile before. And that's why the Facebook IPO was such a debacle because it was unclear how they were going to monetize on mobile. And with a small screen on mobile, there's less real estate, no pun intended to pop up ads or whatever.