{"id":4232,"date":"2026-04-18T18:55:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-18T18:55:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/?p=4232"},"modified":"2026-04-18T18:55:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T18:55:10","slug":"zillows-ceo-credits-steve-jobs-app-store-launch-for-kick-starting-his-career-at-the-10-5b-company","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/?p=4232","title":{"rendered":"Zillow’s CEO credits Steve Jobs’ App Store launch for kick-starting his career at the $10.5B company"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

The 2008 financial crisis burned bad memories into the back of Americans\u2019 brains: employees being laid off in droves, families struggling to put food on their tables, and a housing market in peril.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But Zillow\u2019s CEO, Jeremy Wacksman, says the time was the start of a new beginning. Less than one year later, he ditched his job as a marketing and product manager at Microsoft Xbox to join the real estate startup, despite nervous looks from his friends.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBack in early 2009, for those that remember, [it] was not a fantastic real estate market,\u201d Wacksman told Fortune in a 2025 Leadership Next podcast episode.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember talking to friends and family [that] I was going to leave a job at Microsoft\u2026And they were like, \u2018Why are you going to go work for this money-losing real estate startup? Real estate\u2019s a terrible market.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The Gen Xer explained his marketing degree is what got him the job at Microsoft\u2014but also, what inspired him to ultimately leave.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBuilding a product and then getting that product ever-present in the user\u2019s mind, that\u2019s been the common theme I\u2019ve seen, and it\u2019s driven my passion,\u201d Wacksman said. \u201cIt\u2019s what led me to Zillow and it\u2019s honestly what keeps me at Zillow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wacksman joined Zillow as the VP of marketing and product, right around the time the late Steve Jobs introduced the Apple app store\u2014and it turned out to be exactly what the struggling company needed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Success came from saying \u2018yes\u2019 to responsibilities outside of his day job\u2014including launching on Apple<\/p>\n

One of the most pivotal moments for the $10.5 billion real-estate marketplace came shortly after Wacksman joined the business as the VP of marketing and product: Apple was finally taking websites mobile with apps for the iPhone.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSix months after I got here, Steve Jobs launched the App Store on the iPhone, and it became clear that this company that had 100-plus people and was a great desktop website needed to go into mobile,\u201d Wacksman recalled to Fortune\u2019s Kristin Stoller and Diane Brady. \u201cMobile was going to be the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, many online businesses, from Zillow and Airbnb, to eBay and Etsy, all have their own bespoke apps to bring convenience to customers. Thanks to Apple\u2019s invention, users could rent out an apartment easily on their phone, sitting in their back pocket. And because Wacksman had spent a quarter of his time at Microsoft working on mobile projects, he was tapped to lead the effort\u2014and saying yes to taking on work outside of his day-to-day responsibilities proved to be a career-defining moment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t hired to [help the company go mobile], I was hired to work on the product and marketing efforts. But mobile was new, and I said yes,\u201d Wacksman said. \u201cAnd in many ways, my career was just 15 years of saying yes to the next thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wacksman slowly rose the ranks over the next decade and a half, assuming roles including chief marketing officer, president, and chief operating officer, before taking the helm as CEO in August 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Reflecting on his time at Zillow and the many other \u2018yes\u2019 moments he\u2019s committed to, Wacksman said he\u2019s learned to embrace opportunity. There will be times that projects fall through or unexpected challenges come into the fold, but the experiences make for a better leader.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ll throw yourself into something and it\u2019ll work, or you\u2019ll throw yourself into something and it won\u2019t work,\u201d Wacksman said. \u201cYou\u2019ll have to pivot, but you\u2019ll have learned something.\u201d<\/p>\n

A version of this story was published on Fortune.com on July 2, 2025.<\/p>\n

#Zillows #CEO #credits #Steve #Jobs #App #Store #launch #kickstarting #career #10.5B #company<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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