Founders at Work.pdf

254 Founders at Work
Livingston: So they didn’t just go away; they changed.
Newmark: Yes. That is mighty good. It worked very nicely.
Livingston: Can you remember anything that surprised you about the early
days?
Newmark: What surprises me, in a way, is how almost universally people are
trustworthy and good. There are problems, and sometimes people bicker,
which is a pain in the ass, but people are good. No matter what your religious
background, we share pretty much the same values. There are some minor differences
that we disagree on, but the differences are at the 5 percent level.
That’s pretty good.
Livingston: What about companies wanting to buy you?
Newmark: We politely say, “No.” The deal is, you know, eBay got that equity.
And we’re happy it’s eBay since they have a similar moral compass. The person
who sold was a former employee selling his equity. Unfortunately, years ago I
decided I’d give away equity. I would grant it, because that would help me
avoid temptation. Normally I can avoid anything but temptation. But he left the
company, and he decided to sell in 2004.
We are very different from any other startup you’ve heard about. That’s just
the way things happened. It’s working out well. Again, a big reason for our
success is Jim.
Livingston: At what point did you think you’d actually be a “real” company?
Newmark: In early ’99. It’s been 7 years. Jim’s been running things for about 6.
Livingston: I read craigslist used to work out of an old Victorian.
Newmark: It’s not really a Victorian, I think. It’s a very simple home. Oddly
enough, we move into an old Victorian mansion in a not-great location, but
that’s all we can find. We did not want to move into the financial district. We
had to move some place convenient for pretty much everyone to commute to.
Livingston: How do you find your employees?
Newmark: We advertise on our site. Sometimes someone will know someone.
Livingston: What’s the most important part of your culture?
Newmark: The culture of trust. The moral compass.
Livingston: And you make sure, when you hire someone, that they have one?
Newmark: The other people on my team do, yes. Since I’ve had such bad luck
in interviewing—that’s because I’m not suited to it—I have no role in the hiring
whatsoever.
Livingston: Is there anything about craigslist that people misunderstand?
Newmark: People sometimes still think we’re a nonprofit, even though we tell
people that we’re not. Sometimes people think that we sold part to eBay, and
that’s a misconception I have to fix now and then.
Livingston: eBay is letting you do your thing, right?