Inman

Lead generation site CEO a wannabe card shark

Niki Scevak, CEO of Homethinking, was an analyst with JupiterResearch advising media firms on strategy and planning for online advertising before he founded lead generation site Homethinking this year.

Before 2003, Scevak was based in Sydney, Australia, where he led JupiterResearch’s coverage of emerging media and telecommunications, and managed INT Media Group’s stable of technology newsletters and events.

Prior to joining JupiterResearch, Scevak co-founded The BookmarkBox, a Web-based bookmark manager and community search provider that was acquired in January of 2000 by New York-based Blink.com.

His new endeavor, Homethinking, is a free online service allows homeowners to view lists of real estate agents in a given area, along with information on how many properties are currently listed by those agents, the average advertised price of those homes and consumer reviews of those agents.

Scevak will speak during Real Estate Connect in New York City, Jan. 11-13, 2006.

Here are his answers to a set of questions posed by Inman News:

Panel or session at Connect:The Web Lead Machine: What Consumers are doing on the Internet.

What kind of house did you grow up in and where?

Suburban house in the city of Newcastle, Australia.

What style of home do you live in and when did you buy it?

Duplex apartment in the East Village in Manhattan.

What worries keep you awake at night?

Nothing should be so important as to keep me up awake at night. We have a lot to be thankful for.

Describe your dream home:

Open plan loft on Sydney’s beaches.

What lesson did you learn in the last year?

To never be fearful of the unknown and to take chances.

What’s the strangest thing you ever packed in a suitcase?

A full cricket kit on the plane to New York. Customs were a little puzzled.

Who is your hero?

Rupert Murdoch.

What was your first job?

Consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers.

What would your second career choice be after real estate?

Professional poker player.

Which daily newspaper do you read and which section do you read first?

The Wall Street Journal.

Where did you spend your last vacation?

Trekking in the mountains of Peru.

What professional accomplishment are you most proud of?

Selling my first Internet company (The BookmarkBox, an online bookmark manager).

What is your favorite technology device or software application?

Gmail.

What kind of music do you listen to?

Relaxed, chill.

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