Zillow Case

Zillow is a Seattle-based real estate market webpage for home seekers the world over. The company is has moved recently into the public market and has shown tremendous jumps in value during its Initial public offering (2011). The traders are looking for the stocks to invest in new, and growing, currently Zillow fills the need.

Rich Barton and Lloyd Frink founded Zillow in 2006. Rich Barton is the founder and was the Chief Executive Officer of Expedia.com when he and Lloyd brought their passions of real estate together to help others locate the homes of their dreams. Currently Rich Barton holds the position of Executive Chairperson at Zillow. He served as the CEO until September 2010. Rich Barton holds places on the boards of directors for several companies and holds Bachelors from Stanford. Lloyd Frink is the current Vice Chairman of Zillow and is also responsible for the long-term strategic direction per zillow.com. Lloyd was previously employed by expedia and interned at Microsoft for several years. Lloyd holds a BA from Stanford in economics.

In review of the information regarding Zillows leadership practices the lawsuits that have been filed provide a picture of haphazard leadership that focuses on the dollar more than the accuracy or originality of the information or services provided. Most of the lawsuits are filed in regard to patent infringement and are settled out-of-court, building on the picture of a leadership built around the making of money (Kilgore, 2011).

Zillow is forging forward in the stock market and thriving online however it has not posted a profit. The company is looking to begin reporting profits in 2013; profits will be coming from the advertisers and new commissions from matching potential buyers to mortgage companies. The mission of Zillow is to empower consumers with information and tools to make smart decisions about homes, real estate, and mortgages (zillow, 2011). Trust is an issue the public may have with Zillow and the negative press it receives from the estimates that are not typically within range of the value of the homes they are posting. Also there are articles reporting Zillow is posting homes whose owners are not posting them for sale or rent, although negative press is still press the educated consumer will avoid Zillow if allegations continue.

Reference

Kilgore, A. (2011). Zillow IPO Filing Reveals Suits. American Banker, 176(63), 8. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Zillow. (2011). Zillow. Retrieved from http://www.zillow.com

Zillow hits the ground running with IPO. (2011). UPI Business, Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

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