Every once in a while someone asks me about software companies to work for in the Seattle area that aren't Microsoft, Amazon or Google. This is the fourth in a series of weekly posts about startups in the Seattle area that I often mention to people when they ask me this question.
Zillow is a real-estate Web site that is slowly revolutionizing how people approach the home buying experience. The service caters to buyers, sellers, potential sellers and real estate professionals in the following ways
- For buyers: You can research a house and find out it's vital statistics (e.g. number of bedrooms, square footage, etc) it's current estimated value and how much it sold for when it was last sold. In addition, you can scope out homes that were recently sold in the neighborhood and get a good visual representation of the housing market in a particular area.
- For sellers and agents: Homes for sale can be listed on the service
- Potential sellers: You can post a Make Me Move™ price without having to actually list your home for sale.
I used Zillow when as part of the home buying process when I got my place and I think the service is fantastic. They also have the right level of buzz given recent high level poachings of Google employees and various profiles in the financial press.
The company was founded by Lloyd Frink and Richard Barton who are ex-Microsoft folks whose previous venture was Expedia, another Web site that revolutionized how people approached a common task.
Press: Fortune on Zillow
Number of Employees: 133
Location: Seattle, WA (Downtown)
Jobs: careers@zillow.hrmdirect.com, current open positions include a number of Software Development Engineer and Software Development Engineer in Test positions as well as a Systems Engineer and Program Manager position.