Technical lead, Redfin
Time at Redfin: Almost two years
What he does: I build software that helps agents quickly move on behalf of their customers both at their desk and on the go.
Age: 35
Degree: Bachelor of science in computing and software systems, University of Washington, Bothell
Location: Seattle, Washington
Social Media: LinkedIn
I have been working in the software industry for over 14 years at a variety of companies including Rhapsody (subscription music), Big Fish (games) and Sidecar (messaging startup).
In my current role as a technical lead at Redfin, I get the opportunity to come in every day and work with an incredible team to build tools and technologies to help make the homebuying and selling experience easier for our customers and agents.
One feature my team worked on is Price Whisperer, a tool that gives agents and customers the opportunity to test out the market with a proposed home price in advance of listing a home. Another was integrating agents’ Google calendars into our tour and appointment scheduling system. This allows our agents to easily update their calendars on their laptops or with their mobile phones and see their booked time reflected when scheduling an appointment with a customer.
The feature I’ve been most excited to work on has been our Mobile Agent Tools app, which provides agents easy on-the-go access to Redfin’s proprietary website that agents use to manage deals, appointments and customer information. Having a mobile app tailored to them has freed up our agents to spend five minutes here and there making changes to a customer’s details or closing out tours activities they might otherwise have had to wait to do until the end of the day to complete on a laptop.
One of the big takeaways I’ve learned throughout my career is that mobile is a unique experience and distinct from the desktop computing, and it’s not enough to simply replicate that experience on a smaller screen. In coming to Redfin I helped to apply this idea to our mobile tools, offering quick access to the most important features and information when agents and consumers need it.
Michael Glover’s workspace
Favorite Twitter account?
Ray Wenderlich. He builds great iOS tutorials for developers.
Favorite food?
Eating out: Thai cashew chicken at Mae Phim. Eating in: cedar plank salmon.
Favorite book?
Neil Gaiman’s “American Gods” and Bill Bryson’s “A Short History of Nearly Everything.”
Favorite city?
Seattle — go ‘Hawks!
Favorite band or singer?
All-time favorite would have to be Death Cab for Cutie.
What do you hate about technology?
When it is used as a replacement for real-life interaction; that is very unfortunate.
What is one thing you would like to fix about the real estate industry?
I want to use technology to help eradicate the idea of “buyer’s remorse.”
Do you think technology can change the industry?
Yes! It’s already happening. Technology is empowering individuals to find homes in a way that wasn’t possible even 10 years ago.
In or out of real estate, is there one problem, large or small, that you would like to solve?
There are many problems that could be solved by using technology to help people connect to the real world. Right now I’m doing that in the real estate industry at Redfin, but I think there are lots of opportunities in other industries, too.
What motivates you?
Building things that help people enjoy life.
Would you like to participate in our real estate hacker profile series? Email contributors@inman.com.
