Inman

Listing Bits: The Upstream ‘pivot’ that should be called a ‘180’

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I had a chance to sit down with Mike Wurzer again at National Association of Realtors (NAR) Midyear to discuss the recent announcement about UpstreamRE not being, well, upstream anymore.

https://assets.inman.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Listing-Bits-EP017.mp3

This was recorded before NAR announced the details of additional funding.

The first step of problem-solving is to assign blame, right?

That seems to be part of Upstream’s tactics in explaining their delayed progress at NAR’s May Legislative Meeting in D.C.

They succeeded in raising the heart rate of today’s guest by implying that a lack of cooperation from vendors is to blame for the slow pace of the project.

Upstream also made a big announcement regarding what they call a pivot, but may be more appropriately called a 180.

Michael Wurzer is the President and CEO of FBS, an employee-owned company committed to exceeding customer expectations. Their signature product, Flexmls, is a standards-driven technology platform connecting real estate professionals to their customers with collaboration tools that deliver timely and accurate information. FBS products serve 185 organizations and over 2,000 agents in the real estate sector.

Under Wurzer’s leadership for the past 20 years, FBS has worked to constantly evolve and embrace change. They were among the first to build a web-based system, striking a balance between stability and innovation.

Today, he examines the Upstream pivot in detail, discussing how Upstream messaging has evolved over time, pain points the initiative was working to address and the need to foster collaboration among industry players.

What’s discussed:

Connect with Michael Wurzer on Twitter or check out his blog.

Email Greg Robertson.