Rich Barton on Building Iconic Companies, Embracing Risk, and the Power of Provocation Marketing

Rich Barton, the co-founder of iconic companies like Expedia, Zillow, and Glassdoor, sat down for an in-depth conversation about his entrepreneurial journey, leadership philosophy, and strategies for building successful businesses.

Barton began by recounting the early days of Expedia, which started as an internal project at Microsoft in the 1990s. He saw the potential to revolutionize the travel industry by giving consumers direct access to booking tools previously only available to travel agents. This "power to the people" ethos would become a recurring theme in Barton's ventures.

A key inflection point came when Barton pitched spinning out Expedia as a separate company. He framed it to Microsoft leadership as both a financial opportunity and a talent retention strategy, allowing entrepreneurial employees to pursue high-growth opportunities while maintaining ties to Microsoft. This savvy positioning helped get buy-in for the spin-off.

Barton emphasized the importance of taking big swings and encouraging innovation, even when projects fail. He shared an anecdote from his time at Microsoft, where an ambitious but unsuccessful book bundling project was met not with punishment, but with encouragement to pursue the next big idea. This culture of embracing risk and learning from failure was something Barton carried forward in his own companies.

When it came to naming and branding new ventures, Barton had some specific strategies:

1. Use rare letters like X, Z and Q which stand out visually
2. Aim for 2 syllables - short enough to be memorable
3. Choose a name that could work as a verb
4. Consider using double letters or palindromes
5. Evoke positive associations

These principles guided the naming of companies like Expedia and Zillow.

Barton also discussed his concept of "provocation marketing" - creating features or content designed to spark conversation and emotional responses. For Zillow, this was the "Zestimate" home value estimator which gave consumers previously inaccessible data. For Glassdoor, it was salary information and company reviews. By providing provocative but valuable information, these features drove organic growth and brand awareness.

On leadership and hiring, Barton emphasized the importance of finding passionate people and being willing to quickly move on from hires that aren't working out. He advised looking beyond just skills and experience to find candidates who light up when discussing their interests and hobbies.

Barton also touched on work-life balance and the importance of taking sabbaticals and disconnecting periodically. He shared how a health scare with his wife's pregnancy led him to reassess his priorities and focus more on health and family. This eventually led to an extended sabbatical in Italy, which recharged him creatively.

In terms of personal habits, Barton described his morning routine of catching up on news and email over coffee, followed by a workout. He's a big believer in exercise for both physical and mental wellbeing. Barton also emphasized the importance of delegation and empowering teams, joking that "if I'm doing my job perfectly, I can be on my surfboard."

Looking to the future, Barton is excited about the potential of distributed work enabled by technology. He sees this as opening up opportunities for talented people, especially working parents, to better balance career ambitions with family life.

Barton closed with some book recommendations, mostly fiction, which he finds a great mental escape from the constant stimulation of the business world. He also shared his billboard message: "Don't panic" - a reminder to stay calm in a world that can often feel overwhelming.

Throughout the conversation, Barton came across as a thoughtful leader focused on empowering consumers and employees alike. His track record of building multiple billion-dollar companies speaks to the effectiveness of his approach emphasizing big ideas, calculated risks, and harnessing the power of information to drive change.

Article created from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vPr7HMjGW8