Brian's Work at Yahoo!
Yahoo! Real Estate - the #1 consumer real estate site
Based on my experience starting EventTicketsNow.com in college, I knew that I wanted to work in the online space. In order to learn everything I could about this industry, I joined Yahoo! as they had businesses in nearly every online vertical, which would provide broad and deep exposure.
Out of college, I joined the six-person Yahoo! Real Estate group because of the rare combination of a start-up feel within a major internet company. While Yahoo! Real Estate was a Top 12 site in the real estate category when I joined, I launched all of the site's marketing initiatives and led traffic acquisition efforts to grow it to the #1 real estate site on the internet. I gained invaluable online operating experience and am proud of my Yahoo! Real Estate accomplishments.
Speaking at Inman Real Estate Connect 2008
I was invited to speak at the largest online real estate industry conference on a panel titled "Marketing Your Blog." I served as the search engine optimization (SEO) expert on the panel, and participated in a lively discussion with more than 200 real estate brokers, agents, and technology providers. I established myself as a company and industry expert on the topic of SEO, participated on several other panels, and was a keynote speaker at the 2008 Yahoo! SEO Conference.
Working with Start-ups and Partners
Here I am listening to a start-up pitch a partnership opportunity at the National Association of Realtors conference. At Yahoo!, I regularly met with start-ups to evaluate their businesses and advise management on partnership or acquisition opportunities. I learned a key framework for how corporations assess early-stage businesses, and have developed partnerships ranging from small start-ups such as the non-profit, GreatSchools.net, to major venture-backed start-ups such as Zillow.com with $87M in funding. This knowledge of how corporations do deals with start-ups is critical for anyone launching a business, and I look forward to sharing my perspective with my Stern classmates.
We Like to Have a Little Fun
We do work hard, but fortunately we mix in a little fun at Yahoo! (after all, it is one of our core values). Below are pictures of some of our team members with the Beach Boys (left) and huddling up with NFL hall of famer Terry Bradshaw (right) at the Prudential Real Estate conference (our major partners). I'm a believer in the work hard, play hard mentality, and fortunately, Yahoo! met my expectations.
Yahoo! Real Estate in Times Square
Just as Yahoo! Real Estate lit up the billboard in Times Square, I hope to leave my own bright mark on the Stern School of Business and New York City.
