How did Rich Barton make his first million?
Rich Barton made his first million through his company, Expedia, an online travel booking platform. Here’s his interesting story:
Early Career and Working at Microsoft (1991–1994)
Barton was passionate about technology from an early age, and so after his studies at Stanford, Barton decided to work at Microsoft. While working at Microsoft, he came up with the idea for Expedia. Frustrated by his own travel booking experience, he imagined that travel could be booked online by consumers themselves instead of going through a broker, which was a new idea at the time. He thought a consumer would care more about information that needs to be filled out during booking a trip compared to the broker. Thus Expedia was born. Microsoft approved his idea and allowed him to lead the creation of the company as a part of Microsoft.
Barton learned about how empowering customers with information can be a great idea, and he applied the idea in his future ventures (Zillow and Glassdoor).
Expedia Launch (1996)
Barton started Expedia as part of Microsoft. The company gained popularity quickly as people loved the idea of booking their own travel.
IPO (1999) and Barton’s First Million
In 1999, Microsoft spun off Expedia as a separate company, and it went public. The IPO was a big hit, and Barton’s stake in the company grew significantly in value. This event likely made Baron a millionaire.
Expedia Acquisition By IAC
InterActiveCorp (IAC) bought Expedia for around $3.6 billion. Barton was already very rich through his stake in the company
New Ventures
After his success with Expedia, Barton co-founded other companies like Zillow and Glassdoor, further expanding his fortune.
Glassdoor Story
Barton’s idea for Glassdoor came during a conversation with Zillow co-founder Spencer Rascoff about the lack of transparency in workplace culture and salaries. Sticking to his philosophy of empowering customers with information, he founded Glassdoor, where employees can review companies and share salaries anonymously.
Image Attribute: Photo by Pavel Danilyuk: https://www.pexels.com/photo/laptop-on-brown-wooden-table-7191172/
