blog.mattgoyer.com

It has been one month that I’ve been at Redfin now. How are things going?

I think they’re actually going pretty well and I’m sure my blog reading co-workers will chime in if they feel otherwise :).

I’m adjusting to life in a cubicle, the first week I even put a calendar up while at Microsoft it tooks months before I personalized my space.

They trust us with office supplies. At Microsoft only a few trusted Admins and very long time employees are trusted with office supply items like staplers, scissors and tape dispensers. Here, I had all these essential PM tools on my desk without even asking. While you may think having your own scissors is pretty frivilous and probably violates some fiduciary duty between our company and our investors (like I’m sure it did at Microsoft), but having to go find an admin so you can open a package is pretty ridiculous.

The people are fun. We’ve hit a couple happy hours and have partied after work. I’d post some pictures but we all agree that what happens during happy hour stays with those at happy hour :).

I’ve shipped. Friday, the 29th, I shipped the first version of the site that I program and project managed. Stressful, but good times; I like rapid iteration and innovation.

Chaos. We’re a small group and many of us are new to the company and new to working together and understandably there are kinks to us all working together that we need to figure out; I’m confident we will figure it out though.

Random. Things are always random. From the stand-off between Rob and Angela to everyone’s amazement at the egg machine to firefighters:

A visitor to Redfin and Savan Hosted on Zooomr

Overall: No regrets, Redfin rocks.

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Hillsters, check out: Capitol Hill Blog.

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Here’s my Rent-o-Meter:

Your monthly rent amount of $1,665 for a 2 beds at: 305 Bellevue Ave E Apt 204 seattle,wa indicates that your rental unit should be in better condition or have more amenities than the average rental unit in your area. If it does not, then your rent may be too high.

Now what would be nice is if they compared my rent to the average mortgage payment I would need to make if I owned the equivalent unit in my neighborhood.

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I hate getting sick on Friday nights. I really do. I’m missing the hockey game and I’m missing decompressing with my co-workers after a stressful week. I’m also wondering if I’ll be able to going racing on the Sound tomorrow as planned.

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There’s a good article on Inman on How to build a new real estate model.

Essentially, a second real estate industry is emerging alongside the traditional train track. We call them new models. They’re replete with upscale services built on a new pro-consumer practice. They come across as real and truthful. Traditionalists can argue about the merits of their pro-consumer tradition but the facts don’t support that claim. Let’s compare.

Thankfully I work at a company trying to build a new pro-consumer model.

What other industries are not pro-consumer? How can they change?

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Tuesday I caught the Scissor Sisters show after work. Like the last time I saw them it was a complete last minute affair and totally worth it; they put on a fabulous show.

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17 Pithy Insights for Startup Employees:

1. If you’re just looking for a job, you’re probably better off looking elsewhere.
2. Seeks signs of potential future success early. Working for a growing, thriving startup is much more fun.
3. If the value of the education does not exceed the value of the salary, you’re doing something wrong.

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Big announcements today at work.

Your first home tour is free:

The first home tour with a Redfin agent, up to three hours per household, is free. Future tours are $125 per home or $250 for a three-hour tour. To schedule a free home tour, send an e-mail to tours@redfin.com or call 1-877-973-3346.

We have refunded $1 million dollars to customers:

Redfin reached the million-dollar milestone in less than six months by refunding $1,011,985 in commissions, for an average refund of $9,825, to 103 home-buyers in California and Washington. In addition, 28 home sellers have used Redfin to sell their home saving $289,173 in commissions, for an average of $10,328.

And if you’re a Microsoftie or a Googler we refund even more than our usual 66%.

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In a rush, I took the boat out over the weekend because Mark was vacating his apartment. In case you’re wondering, this is what a wakeboard boat costs:

$100/year for new fenders and lines

$120/year for registration

$120/year to put in the water and take it out

$500/year in required maintenance

$550/year for insurance

$900/year for trailer storage

$1200/year for moorage

Plus $40-50 every time you go wakeboarding.

Which I guess is probably like $85/hour not counting the expense of the boat, financing, depreciation and toys.

Needless to say I’m seriously reconsidering this sport since I went wakeboarding less than 10 times this year. But, don’t get me wrong, I love owning a wakeboard boat. Now if only there was a fractional boat ownership program out there. Or a web 2.0 site that manages both the cost sharing (ala Billmonk) and the time sharing of a shared asset like a boat, or sports car, or high end downhill mountain bike.

If you’re in Seattle and interested in fractional boat ownership drop me a line. Maybe I’ll put together something next spring.

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