Rich Barton: Empower People with Information [Entire Talk]

TL;DR

Rich Barton empowers consumers by removing barriers to information, a principle that shaped Expedia, Zillow, and Glassdoor. His first startup began inside Microsoft after he proposed putting travel-agent information directly on personal computers. Barton also credits ambitious goals, clear missions, and respectful teams with helping ventures succeed. Read on for his lessons about transparency, entrepreneurship, expectations, and company culture.

Transcript

• I graduated in 1989 with an industrial engineering degree. Actually a general engineering degree colon industrial economics because I went to Florence and studied. For a semester and that or for a quarter and that took me off track, so I couldn't actually get an I.E degree so I made up my own engineering degree. Which was a terrific thing about S... Read More

Key Insights

• Rich Barton founded Expedia, Zillow, and Glassdoor to empower consumers by providing direct access to information.
• Expedia was born from the idea of creating an electronic travel agent, allowing consumers to access travel information directly.
• Zillow was created to provide transparency in the real estate market, offering detailed information about homes and their values.
• Glassdoor offers insights into company cultures and salaries, helping job seekers make informed career decisions.
• The Pygmalion effect suggests that high expectations lead to high achievements, a principle Barton applies in his ventures.
• Barton emphasizes the importance of having a clear mission and vision to guide through challenging times.
• The Wizard of Oz analogy highlights the importance of brains, courage, and heart in building successful teams.
• Barton advocates for a workplace culture of respect, with a strong stance against toxic behaviors.

Questions & Answers

Q: How does Rich Barton empower people with information?

Barton builds services that give consumers direct access to information previously controlled by intermediaries. Expedia addressed travel planning, Zillow brought transparency to real estate, and Glassdoor shared information about employers, salaries, and workplace experiences.

Q: How did Rich Barton come up with the idea for Expedia?

While working as a Microsoft product manager, Barton became frustrated that corporate travel agents could see fares and hotels on their screens while he had to plan complicated trips by phone. He saw an opportunity to put the travel agent's information directly in front of consumers using personal computers.

Q: How was Expedia started at Microsoft?

Barton pitched Bill Gates on funding an electronic travel agent as an outside startup. Gates instead told him to start it inside Microsoft and consider spinning it off later if it worked, which Barton says is how Expedia was born.

Q: What was Barton's original ambition for Expedia?

Barton wanted Expedia to become the largest seller of travel in the world by helping everyone everywhere make and take better trips. He believed connecting suppliers and consumers directly could drive an industrial revolution in the travel industry.

Q: What is the Pygmalion effect in Barton's talk?

Barton describes the Pygmalion effect as the principle that great expectations produce great results. He connects it to setting a highly ambitious goal for Expedia from the beginning.

Q: How does Zillow empower real estate consumers?

Zillow gives consumers transparent information about properties, including estimated market values, tax records, and images. Barton presents this access as a way to help people make better-informed decisions about buying or selling homes.

Q: How does Glassdoor create transparency in the job market?

Glassdoor lets employees anonymously share salaries, company reviews, and workplace experiences. That information helps job seekers evaluate potential employers and gives companies feedback about their work environments.

Q: What does Rich Barton believe makes an effective company team?

Barton uses the Wizard of Oz characters to emphasize brains, courage, and heart in a team. He also advocates respect, collaboration, and a “no assholes” policy to support a positive workplace culture.

Summary

This video features an entrepreneur discussing his experiences with three different startups: Expedia, Zillow, and Glassdoor. He highlights the importance of giving power to the people and the role of great expectations in achieving great results. He also emphasizes the value of having a clear mission, hiring the right people, and creating a culture of innovation, trust, and respect.

Questions & Answers

Q: What was the first startup the speaker discussed?

The speaker discussed Expedia, which was born out of his frustration with corporate travel agencies while he was a product manager at Microsoft. He recognized the opportunity to give power to the people and provide them with access to information about travel options.

Q: How did the speaker pitch the idea of Expedia to Bill Gates?

The speaker pitched the idea of building an electronic travel agent to Bill Gates during a meeting. He initially thought Microsoft wouldn't be interested in it and suggested funding the startup externally. However, Bill Gates laughed and encouraged him to start it inside Microsoft, with the possibility of spinning it off if it proved successful.

Q: What was the big idea and goal of Expedia?

The big idea and goal of Expedia was to become the largest seller of travel in the world. The speaker recognized the opportunity to use technology to connect consumers with information and suppliers in the travel industry, bypassing traditional intermediaries.

Q: How did the speaker describe the Pygmalion effect in relation to his first startup?

The speaker described the Pygmalion effect as the idea that great expectations lead to great results. He used this concept to emphasize the importance of setting big goals and having ambitious dreams. By aiming high, you attract like-minded individuals and use human ingenuity to achieve your goals.

Q: What was the second startup the speaker discussed?

The speaker discussed Zillow, which was born out of his frustration with the lack of access to information about homes for sale. He saw an opportunity to tear down the barriers in the real estate industry and provide consumers with information to make better decisions.

Q: How did the speaker describe the incentive structures in public companies?

The speaker doesn't believe that private and public companies behave differently, as long as the public company is founder-led. He emphasized that having a public company provides strategic flexibility and optionality, allowing the company to make long-term decisions and raise capital for growth.

Q: How did the speaker describe the importance of culture in a company?

The speaker emphasized the importance of culture in a company and described it as a lever for building a successful and innovative organization. He discussed the value of hiring the right people, having a well-defined mission, and creating an environment of trust, respect, and excellence.

Q: How did the speaker inspire his teams to be excellent to each other?

The speaker encouraged a culture of excellence by emphasizing the importance of valuing and respecting all functions within the company, not just engineering. He described how all functions, like sales, marketing, and HR, are essential spokes in the wheel of a successful organization, and that mutual respect and collaboration are key.

Q: What was the third startup the speaker discussed?

The speaker discussed Glassdoor, a job search site that provides information on salaries, company culture, and employee reviews. It was born out of the desire to empower individuals in making informed decisions about their careers and workplaces.

Q: How did the speaker encourage people to be excellent to each other?

The speaker used the movie "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" to highlight the importance of being excellent to each other. He emphasized the value of respect, compassion, and kindness within a company, and how treating others well can lead to long-term success and positive relationships.

Takeaways

The speaker's main takeaways from his experiences with startups are the importance of giving power to the people, setting big goals and expectations, hiring the right people, and creating a culture of innovation, trust, and excellence. He also highlights the role of technology in providing access to information and transforming industries, as well as the value of strategic flexibility and optionality through public companies. Finally, he emphasizes the significance of treating others with respect and kindness to build successful and fulfilling organizations.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Rich Barton discusses his journey of founding Expedia, Zillow, and Glassdoor, highlighting the common theme of empowering consumers with information. He shares insights on how providing transparency and access to data can revolutionize industries, as seen in travel, real estate, and job markets, ultimately driving consumer empowerment and informed decision-making.

• Barton explains the Pygmalion effect, emphasizing that setting high expectations often leads to achieving great results. He illustrates this with his ventures, where aiming to become industry leaders drove innovation and success. He also stresses the importance of having a clear mission and vision to navigate through challenges.

• The talk touches on the importance of team dynamics, using the Wizard of Oz characters to explain the need for intelligence, courage, and empathy in building effective teams. Barton also highlights the significance of maintaining a respectful and supportive workplace culture, advocating for a 'no assholes' policy to ensure a positive and productive environment.