Market Leader (formerly NASDAQ: LEDR), originally named HouseValues, is a provider of cloud-based marketing and technology for real estate agents, brokerages, and franchisors in the United States and Canada. It was founded in 1999 in Bellevue, Washington, by real estate agent Mark Powell, and offers lead generation, CRM, and marketing tools that help real estate professionals grow and manage their businesses.
HouseValues went public on NASDAQ in December 2004 under the ticker SOLD and became the second online real estate company to reach $100 million in revenue, with a peak valuation near $1 billion. In November 2008 it rebranded as Market Leader under CEO 📝Ian Morris, trading as LEDR, to reflect a product line that had grown beyond its original home-valuation lead service. Trulia acquired Market Leader in 2013 for $355 million, and it passed to Zillow when Zillow acquired Trulia in 2015.
I was the first CFO of Market Leader and led its $94M IPO. Nikesh Parekh, a 📝Sigma Chi brother from Harvard, introduced me to Ian, and I joined in fall 2003 believing in the company's potential.