Started off great, but crashed and burned - Contractor HotPads Employee Review

i have been with HotPads for close to a year and so far it's been a great experience. Right from the interview setups, the hiring process and everything else since then has been awesome. Zillow Group and HotPads seem like a place that values their employees. As others have said, this is like working in a start-up with the backing of a big company (ZG), so you get the best of both worlds. Everyone here is very friendly and ready and willing to help. The founders and early employees are still here and code on a regular basis. Just shows their passion and commitment to the product they have built over the last 11+ years. A lot of challenging problems to solve here, and you keep learning new things on a regular basis Your good work is appreciated and rewarded Team is growing a lot, so there are/will be opportunities for growth as well A good work/life balance. Work hard during the day but no need to work late hours/deadlines etc.

I can't think of anything thats really bad here. Commute might be an issue for those living in south bay/east bay but when you work at such a cool place, you look forward to coming in to work every day.

HotPads is in a unique position in that it still operates much like an early startup, devoid of the bureaucracy and slow thinking of a larger company, but never has to compromise product or engineering decisions on account of being part of Zillow. All of the original brain trust is still around and coding eleven years later, which is an incredibility rarity in the tech world. The rental world is HotPad's oyster, and it is positioned to seize that very opportunity.

While it is part of Zillow, and happens to be the quickest growing division in the entire company, it still suffers a bit of the step child symptoms that come with being an acquisition and less financially vital aspect of the larger beast. That said, the booming traffic growth has made a palpable difference and I have no doubt HotPads will soon be at the tip of everyone's tongue in Zillow.