Matt Slutsky was VP of Development for a Toronto land development firm before co-founding BuzzBuzzHome, a listings site for new home developments in Canada. With more than 100,000 visitors per month*, read about the difficulties of launching and maintaining a hugely successful site in today’s YEDaily…
Elevator Pitch: Describe your job in a nutshell.
I’m the President and co-founder of BuzzBuzzHome. I shape and develop the company’s strategy and services with my business partner Cliff Peskin. While handling the accounts for the 100+ clients featured on BuzzBuzzHome, it’s necessary for me to be in constant contact with representatives from each company that we work alongside. Spearheading our company’s social media initiatives, PR, outreach, and sales are also large parts of my job.
Why did you start working at your company? What was the inspiration for this career route?
While working as VP – Development at Diamante Development Corporation, I realized that there was a huge gap of information in the residential real-estate market. Resale had the MLS, but new construction didn’t have a comparable service. Cliff and I were determined to disrupt the market. As a result, BuzzBuzzHome was born and has become Canada’s online destination for anyone looking for a new-home, highrise or lowrise, urban or suburban.
What is the best part of what you do on a day-to-day basis? The most challenging part?
The best part of what I do revolves around building a great culture for our company. Work gets done through our team members, and our team is affected by the culture of our office space. A less-than-stellar work culture will drive away high performers, while a great work culture will cultivate and retain remarkable talent.
The most challenging part of the day is going out and finding the most remarkable talent around!
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Real estate is a fascinating industry that possesses a lot of depth. I believe that many aspects of the industry should be more transparent and serviced to their full potential. I would like to continue developing solutions for the industry that make the home buying process easier, more friendly and more transparent.
What does success look like to you?
On one hand, success is creating a profitable business that inspires respect from peers, delights customers, and leads users to a better and more balanced life. On the other hand, as cheesy as this sounds, success is helping to make the world a better place.
What is the most memorable milestone in your career?
The most memorable moment in my career was when a user of our site showed up at our office with a huge gift for our team. He told us that BuzzBuzzHome guided him in his new home purchasing experience, and he was able to make good purchasing decisions by using our database of projects, our online forums and the information provided in our blog. He told us that without the help of our service, he would have made the wrong decision on where he purchased, and the suite type that he purchased.
These words from a user early in our growth provided us with the knowledge that we were on the right path, and succeeding in our mission to make the new home purchasing experience more transparent and simpler for purchasers.
Do you have any advice for other young professionals?
The best advice that I can give to a young professional is the memorize the following quote from Calvin Coolidge, and live by it:
Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence.
Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent.
Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.
Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.
Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.
The slogan ‘Press On’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.
– Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the US (1872 – 1933)
Do you support any charities? If so, which one(s) and why is that important to you?
I’m a big supporter of St. Michael’s Hospital. The work they are doing on inner city health is critical to the success of cities. We are currently working on an industry fundraiser that will donate all the proceeds to the hospital.
What to you is notable?
Being notable is being significant, interesting, or unusual enough to deserve attention.
Being notable is being regarded as an important figure or is widely cited by peers.
Being notable is someone who has originated a new concept, theory or technique.
Blackberry, iPhone, Android, or Other?
After the OBO11 (October Blackberry Outage of 2011) I decided to throw my Blackberry out the window, and move over to the iPhone 4S. It was a phenomenal decision. The iPhone 4S is a superb business tool that I now could not imagine living without.
*Information courtesy of The Globe and Mail