In this episode of The Tim Ferriss Show, Rich Barton shares his entrepreneurial journey, from co-founding travel company Expedia within Microsoft to later disrupting the real estate industry with Zillow and its innovative Zestimate tool. Barton reflects on the mentors and philosophies that shaped his approach to building data-driven, consumer-focused businesses and cultivating an environment where entrepreneurial ideas can thrive.
The discussion also explores Barton's personal life, including his morning routine, family traditions, and creative pursuits. Additionally, Barton offers book recommendations within his favorite genres, praising authors who excel at weaving deeper themes into their character-driven narratives.
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Rich Barton realized his passion was in building and creating rather than consulting. At Microsoft, Brad Chase mentored him in an environment that encouraged fearless innovation, setting the stage for Barton's entrepreneurial ventures.
In 1994, Barton co-founded Expedia within Microsoft, securing Bill Gates' backing to create an online travel service. Barton reflects on gaining confidence to spin Expedia off publicly by 1999, aided by his wife Sarah's medical residency search.
Barton co-founded Zillow with Lloyd Frink, disrupting real estate with real-time home valuations via the provocative Zestimate tool. Though facing initial industry resistance, Zillow's popularity with consumers and legislators helped Barton navigate challenges.
Barton believes in hiring and protecting "intrapreneurs" who can ideate boldly without fear of failure. He also emphasizes disrupting existing business models and learning from other companies.
Barton prefers consumer-focused models that identify opportunities and create transparent data streams to engage audiences, as seen with features like Zestimate and Glassdoor salary disclosures.
Barton underscores taking real vacations to identify emerging leaders and the importance of secure leaders letting successors take charge, contrasting insecure micromanagers.
Barton starts early with a nutrient-packed smoothie, physical therapy, and news while prioritizing wellness through balanced exercise regimes integrating strength, cardio, and recreation.
Barton cherishes family traditions like rafting trips and breakfast rituals. He's explored painting during a year in Florence and is open to future pursuits in art and writing.
Barton loves the escapism of character-driven magical realism fiction. He recommends works by Mark Helprin, Haruki Murakami, and Neal Stephenson for their deeper themes, also praising Amor Towles' beautiful storytelling.
1-Page Summary
Rich Barton has made a name for himself in the tech industry as a notable entrepreneur with a strong background in strategy and a penchant for innovative business ventures.
After graduating from college, Rich Barton became a strategy consultant with Alliance Consulting Group, a strategic offshoot of the Boston Consulting Group, but the role clashed with his passion for building and his entrepreneurial spirit. Despite considering his experience there to be a valuable business education, it made him realize that his satisfaction came from creating as a "client" rather than consulting. His desire to be a builder led him to leave consulting behind and join Microsoft.
At Microsoft, Barton found a mentor in Brad Chase, who, as Barton's first significant boss post-college, encouraged him to take bold risks and supported him even when ventures failed. Describing a pivotal pricing error with Microsoft's MS-DOS 5, Barton recalls expecting repercussions, only to be met with Brad's forward-looking question, "What's your next big idea?" This culture of fearless innovation at Microsoft, as well as his desire to delve into consumer software, set the stage for Barton's entrepreneurial ventures.
In 1994, Barton co-founded Expedia within Microsoft, capitalizing on the early era of the internet to create a consumer-focused online travel service. Wielding his persistent vision and persuasion skills, he secured Bill Gates' backing and Microsoft's trust to acquire substantial funding. Barton succeeded in spinning Expedia off as a publicly traded company by 1999, employing it as a human resources experiment. He not only led the company as its CEO but also established it as one of the key players in creating a new intersection of travel services and technology.
Bill Gates promised him that if the project grew large enough, Microsoft would consider spinning it off. Barton recalls requiring from Steve Ballmer a sizable budget to build Expedia into a dominant brand through television campaigns, and despite initial skepticism, he developed the company to the point where it was spun off as a public entity.
Rich Barton's wife, Sarah, provided a personal impetus for his transition within Microsoft and the creation of Expedia. Her medical residency search, and the need to potentially move for it, coincided with the launch of Windows 95, which led to Barton's internal transfer. Ultimately, her matching to the University of Washington was the family's ticket to staying in Seattle, where Barton could continue his work on Expedia. This turning point in Barton's career became the catalyst for a brand that would revolutionize travel booking. He reflects on successful efforts to recruit top talent and carry the team through challenging conversations with their spouses, always projecting confidence with their IPO plans.
Following the sale of Expedia to IAC, Barton left an indelible mark on the industry and chose to spend time abroad with family, providing space for new leadership and the brand's continuous evoluti ...
Barton's Professional Background and Entrepreneurial Journey
Rich Barton shares his philosophies on cultivating innovation, creating data-driven businesses, and balancing leadership and delegation, promoting a culture that is consumer-focused and empowers employees.
Barton discusses the importance of hiring and cultivating innovators, or "intrapreneurs," and creating an environment that allows them to take bold ideas without fear of failure, as long as it doesn't indicate incompetence. He underscores the need for "intrapreneurs" to be protected from the mainstream corporate culture that could reject their disruptive ideas.
Barton believes in learning from various business models to innovate and improve his ventures. He encourages executives on his teams to engage with other businesses to import new experiences to their primary company. For instance, Barton shares how sitting on the board of Netflix provided him with insights that benefited his other companies.
Barton expresses a preference for consumer-driven business models that identify opportunities and aim to resolve inefficiencies in consumer interactions. He was inspired by Google's AdWords auction-based market and believes in sharing a constant stream of data to keep consumer interest. He credits Zillow's marketing chief, Amy, for setting up a data distribution infrastructure, with the Zestimate feature serving as a key part of Zillow's provocation marketing strategy.
Emphasizing this approach, Barton shares examples from other ventures, such as Glassdoor's salary disclosure "give to get" strategy and Avvo's attorney rating system, both of which were intentionally provocative to spark attention and discussion.
Barton highlights the importance of work-life balance, suggesting that leaders should take real vacations to allow team members to step up, identi ...
Barton's Business Philosophies and Management Approach
Rich Barton, an admirable figure in the business world, leads a life full of diverse interests, and prioritizes his health and family amidst his hectic professional schedule. His routine, wellness practices, and personal pursuits paint a picture of a life well balanced between discipline, creativity, and family values.
Barton's day begins at the quiet hour of 6:30 AM, earlier than his wife, allowing him the peace to focus on personal tasks. Nutritionally, he starts the day with a nutrient-packed smoothie consisting of oat milk, ice, an apple or banana, pistachios, macadamias, blueberries, Pocari Sweat electrolyte, and a prune. This healthy breakfast accompanies his morning routine of checking emails and keeping up with the news on a muted CNBC broadcast, using his iPad.
While settling into his morning, Barton employs the Hyperice Venom on his back, an essential part of his preparation for his forthcoming physical therapy sessions and exercise, ensuring his body is warmed up and poised for activity.
For about two hours after waking up, Barton engrosses himself in catching up on the news and inspecting his email inbox. This time is also dedicated to physical preparedness, where he stresses the need for regular bowel movements, especially as one ages. Barton's morning reflects a structured approach to starting his day, balancing work and wellness even before the family home wakes up.
An advocate for balanced exercise, Barton unfolds his fitness routine as a fusion of cardiovascular workouts, strength training, and recreational activities like snowboarding and tennis. Past experiences like hot yoga, marathons, and a 'weekend warrior' lifestyle led to this well-rounded approach. Cognizant of the changes age brings, such as reduced bone density and muscle mass, Barton has ramped up his physical pursuits to enhance his longevity and sustain his ability to enjoy his favorite activities. This reevaluation of priorities emphasizes Barton's commitment to health as a core pillar supporting his active lifestyle.
Family traditions and nurturing creative outlets stand firm in Barton's personal life. He speaks fondly of shared experiences like rafting the Grand Canyon, a time for reconnection and engagement in human interactions clear from technology. These moments fortify bonds and create memories that they treasure as a family.
His foray into creative realms such as painting on his iPad and writing showcases his pursuit of life beyond business. Barton also reflects on roles within his family, such as being a 'short order breakfast chef,' especially during a period when his younger son needed a nutritious start to his day. Memories like these have materialized into cherished collections like The Bre ...
Barton's Personal Life, Health, and Interests
Rich Barton, best known for his operational and problem-solving skills in the business realm, divulges his love for fiction and storytelling, his preference for character-driven magical realism, and offers his personal reading recommendations.
Barton expresses a profound appreciation for the escapism that beautiful, character-driven magical realism fiction offers. He ponders over the genre as an excellent departure from his business work, describing the immersion into a fiction novel as a fantastic release for his "monkey brain."
He lists renowned authors such as Mark Helprin, Haruki Murakami, and Neal Stephenson as his favorites, praising their ability to intertwine deeper themes within their narrative worlds.
Barton is known to gift and recommend "The Oceans and the Stars" by Mark Helprin, an author whose talent for crafting epic tales that traverse war, romance, and exploration with magical elements he admires greatly. He also indicates a readiness to delve into the works of Ted Chiang, aligning with his own literary tastes, despite only recently becoming familiar with Chiang through a mention by Ferriss.
In addition, Barton reveals his experience with Helprin's most recent book about an admiral on an enigmatic mission aboard a new ship, which he speaks of in high regard. He also recalls that "A Winter's Tale" by Helprin, set in early 20th-century New York, is a beautiful story worthy of a revisit.
Barton's Reading Recommendations and Literary Preferences
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