Andrew Chen could be described as a career chameleon. After graduating from Harvard Law School in 2007, he spent time on Wall Street before an offer from a private equity firm drew him to the West Coast. With its inescapable tech community, Andrew quickly realized that San Francisco welcomes and celebrates those who are looking to create something new and tangible. Andrew decided to leave his job in finance and look for roles in the tech space, opting to join a growing and vibrant community of talented people looking to optimize consumer services through technology. We sat down with Andrew in the San Francisco office to get his perspective on what makes Redfin stand out in Silicon Valley, what he values most working in the tech industry and why he chose to get involved with a tech brokerage.
How did you first hear about Redfin? I first heard about Redfin when I was searching for my own home. I didn’t end up using a Redfin agent at that time, but I was familiar with the website and used all of Redfin’s digital products.
You left your job at LinkedIn to join Redfin as a Product Manager. Why did you choose Redfin as opposed to one of the other big Silicon Valley tech companies? It was really important for me to work at a company whose product I could use, or could realistically envision myself using. Purchasing my own home was a painful process which inspired me to work at a company focused on making the homebuying process more transparent and favorable for the consumer. I also found the strength of the culture to be impressive; I noticed the tenure of many employees at Redfin was longer than the average in the tech industry, and people really seemed to want to stick around. That in itself says a lot about how much people love to work at Redfin.
Speaking of culture, what specifically do you think sets Redfin apart from other major tech companies? There are two things that stand out to me about Redfin. First, is the very strong sense of mission at the company. I think a lot of Silicon Valley startups currently are primarily motivated by financial outcomes. While that is definitely important, Redfin’s strategy isn’t driven by finding the easiest path to make a lot of money. There is a very strong ethos at the company of wanting to do right by the customer, which may not always result in the biggest financial gain. Second, Redfin lives up to its values of being genuine and honorable; I see it in the people I interact with every day. The culture we have built around those two values is so strong that it’s rare to encounter people at Redfin who are not genuinely motivated to do the right thing.
What, if anything, has Redfin taught you about yourself? I’ve definitely learned a lot of new technical skills, which is useful. On a more higher level, working at Redfin has underscored the importance to me of having a strong culture and a clear mission. The “why” behind what Redfin is doing is important to me. There is a clear mission behind every decision we make. Most startups have some sort of “why”, but when you actually see how they operate, it’s really just about making money. The “why” here is very focused on home buyers and homeowners. Once you actually work at a company with this intense focus on values and mission, you really start to appreciate how unique it is.
Have another question for Andrew about why he chooses to work for Redfin? Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter @Redfin!
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