1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:02,440 Speaker 1: I'm Jason Kelly and I'm Carol Masser. Welcome to the 2 00:00:02,480 --> 00:00:05,800 Speaker 1: Bloomberg Business Week Extra. It's our weekly podcast, bringing you 3 00:00:05,840 --> 00:00:08,200 Speaker 1: an in depth interview you will not hear anywhere else. 4 00:00:08,240 --> 00:00:11,280 Speaker 1: And Jason, this really is an exclusive interview. It's one 5 00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:13,560 Speaker 1: of the folks of the Bloomberg fifty. We're talking about 6 00:00:13,600 --> 00:00:17,960 Speaker 1: I A C CEO, Joey Levin. I trooped down to 7 00:00:18,400 --> 00:00:21,520 Speaker 1: his headquarters here in New York City. Of course, the 8 00:00:21,640 --> 00:00:25,520 Speaker 1: headquarters alone are iconic now on the West Side. You 9 00:00:25,560 --> 00:00:29,120 Speaker 1: can't drive up the West Side Highway without picking them out. 10 00:00:29,600 --> 00:00:33,720 Speaker 1: Barry Diller, he's behind it. Joey Levin, though he was 11 00:00:33,760 --> 00:00:37,480 Speaker 1: a longtime lieutenant, he's now running the show. Here's your conversation. 12 00:00:37,800 --> 00:00:41,960 Speaker 1: So congratulations Bloomberg fifty. Here at I A c headquarters, 13 00:00:42,280 --> 00:00:44,720 Speaker 1: Thanks for hosting. So I want to go back to 14 00:00:44,760 --> 00:00:49,240 Speaker 1: the beginning and and understand how you got here because 15 00:00:49,440 --> 00:00:53,480 Speaker 1: you're a banker. Yeah, I don't like to admit that 16 00:00:53,479 --> 00:00:56,760 Speaker 1: that's true. I was. I was a banker, and actually 17 00:00:56,760 --> 00:00:59,160 Speaker 1: I learned a tremendous amount. I'm I don't I don't 18 00:00:59,240 --> 00:01:01,720 Speaker 1: at all regret having done it. I didn't. It wasn't 19 00:01:01,880 --> 00:01:04,040 Speaker 1: my favorite thing. I ever did, but I learned a 20 00:01:04,040 --> 00:01:05,880 Speaker 1: tremendous amount, and I think it opened up a lot 21 00:01:05,880 --> 00:01:07,640 Speaker 1: of opportunities for me in terms of just how to 22 00:01:07,680 --> 00:01:10,480 Speaker 1: think about things and and uh, I didn't know what 23 00:01:10,520 --> 00:01:12,280 Speaker 1: I wanted to do out of college, and there was 24 00:01:12,520 --> 00:01:13,840 Speaker 1: where I went to college, there was a lot of 25 00:01:13,840 --> 00:01:16,240 Speaker 1: banks that did a lot of recruiting, and they pulled 26 00:01:16,280 --> 00:01:19,119 Speaker 1: me into uh the sort of tech bubble, which sort 27 00:01:19,160 --> 00:01:20,760 Speaker 1: of the peak of the tech bubble, which is when 28 00:01:20,800 --> 00:01:24,160 Speaker 1: the recruiting started. It was a fall two thousand when 29 00:01:24,200 --> 00:01:26,560 Speaker 1: things were just about to crest over and by the 30 00:01:26,600 --> 00:01:31,200 Speaker 1: time I started, they had the bubble had burst. And uh, 31 00:01:31,240 --> 00:01:33,280 Speaker 1: they offered me thirty thousand dollars not to show up 32 00:01:33,280 --> 00:01:37,880 Speaker 1: to the job, but I decided to show up anyway. Yeah. Wow, Yeah, 33 00:01:38,200 --> 00:01:39,960 Speaker 1: it was. It was a really interesting time. And I 34 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:41,399 Speaker 1: think it's a great time to get started on a 35 00:01:41,440 --> 00:01:44,280 Speaker 1: career because you could if I had started two years early, 36 00:01:44,319 --> 00:01:46,559 Speaker 1: I would have thought you could do nothing wrong. Uh, 37 00:01:46,600 --> 00:01:49,280 Speaker 1: And I started, uh two years later, and it was 38 00:01:49,680 --> 00:01:51,280 Speaker 1: you could do nothing right and you really had to 39 00:01:51,320 --> 00:01:53,280 Speaker 1: grind out to figure out how to make things work. 40 00:01:53,960 --> 00:01:56,960 Speaker 1: And uh, I'm actually pretty I'm grateful for that, but 41 00:01:57,040 --> 00:02:00,640 Speaker 1: so I came to I See to do mergers and acquisitions, 42 00:02:00,640 --> 00:02:03,840 Speaker 1: which is what I was doing as a banker. Uh 43 00:02:03,880 --> 00:02:05,720 Speaker 1: and really Barry had told the market he wanted to 44 00:02:05,760 --> 00:02:07,880 Speaker 1: spend ten billion dollars on acquisitions in the Internet. And 45 00:02:07,920 --> 00:02:10,280 Speaker 1: I thought that that is Uh, that sounds like a 46 00:02:10,320 --> 00:02:12,760 Speaker 1: lot of fun. And the this was two thousand three 47 00:02:12,800 --> 00:02:15,880 Speaker 1: and the Internet was not popular. It was people said, 48 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:19,880 Speaker 1: we we advertising doesn't work on the internet. We were 49 00:02:19,880 --> 00:02:23,040 Speaker 1: not buying eyeballs anymore. And and this thing's overdone. And 50 00:02:23,080 --> 00:02:25,960 Speaker 1: we thought there's still a lot of opportunity here, and 51 00:02:26,080 --> 00:02:27,720 Speaker 1: uh we did. We went and spent most of that 52 00:02:27,760 --> 00:02:31,440 Speaker 1: money in travel, but we we were very active in that. 53 00:02:31,520 --> 00:02:33,320 Speaker 1: And and M and A was very sort of core 54 00:02:33,400 --> 00:02:34,960 Speaker 1: to the center of I C. And so I got 55 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:38,919 Speaker 1: to know uh, Barry and the vice chairman, Victor conform 56 00:02:39,040 --> 00:02:42,240 Speaker 1: very well. We're all very involved in this process, uh 57 00:02:42,280 --> 00:02:45,240 Speaker 1: and uh and and Dara was there then who's who's 58 00:02:46,120 --> 00:02:47,960 Speaker 1: now at uber And it was a great group of 59 00:02:47,960 --> 00:02:50,720 Speaker 1: people who I learned to train his tremendous amount from 60 00:02:50,840 --> 00:02:54,720 Speaker 1: and UH started doing acquisitions, then started doing some finance stuff, 61 00:02:54,720 --> 00:02:57,760 Speaker 1: and then started running my first business in two thousand nine. 62 00:02:58,240 --> 00:03:01,919 Speaker 1: And so go back to sort of joining and I 63 00:03:01,960 --> 00:03:05,080 Speaker 1: mean at that point, Barry Diller is capital B, capital D, 64 00:03:05,240 --> 00:03:07,359 Speaker 1: very dill. I mean like he's he's not an unknown 65 00:03:08,040 --> 00:03:10,600 Speaker 1: at that point. What were your first impressions of working 66 00:03:10,639 --> 00:03:14,200 Speaker 1: for him? It was funny. People had all these things 67 00:03:14,440 --> 00:03:17,040 Speaker 1: of Okay, you're going into your first meeting with Berry. 68 00:03:17,080 --> 00:03:19,160 Speaker 1: Are you're going into a meeting with Berry. Don't look 69 00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:21,359 Speaker 1: at him. I don't look directly at him, but don't 70 00:03:21,360 --> 00:03:24,040 Speaker 1: look away from it. I was like, what, there was 71 00:03:24,080 --> 00:03:26,080 Speaker 1: all these like rules that people were trying to give me, 72 00:03:26,120 --> 00:03:28,480 Speaker 1: and you go into the meeting. He's he's the regular person. 73 00:03:28,560 --> 00:03:31,880 Speaker 1: He's very intense, and he's very sharp, and he gets 74 00:03:31,919 --> 00:03:35,280 Speaker 1: to the point on everything very quickly, and and sort 75 00:03:35,280 --> 00:03:38,960 Speaker 1: of intolerant of kind of nonsense or waste. But he's 76 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:43,120 Speaker 1: just the person in a meeting. And Uh. The thing 77 00:03:43,160 --> 00:03:46,560 Speaker 1: that I appreciated right away and still appreciate today very 78 00:03:46,640 --> 00:03:51,320 Speaker 1: much is this culture of debate and discussion and challenging 79 00:03:51,560 --> 00:03:54,040 Speaker 1: and it's it's it's a lot of ways. It's it's 80 00:03:54,080 --> 00:03:55,680 Speaker 1: hard to do as a leader because you say to 81 00:03:55,720 --> 00:04:00,840 Speaker 1: everybody you know, essentially everything I say, you should challenge 82 00:04:00,880 --> 00:04:03,880 Speaker 1: everything I say, you should disagree with everything and and 83 00:04:03,960 --> 00:04:06,160 Speaker 1: to make sure that that you get to the right answer. 84 00:04:06,400 --> 00:04:09,080 Speaker 1: And it is a definitively a better way of getting 85 00:04:09,120 --> 00:04:11,080 Speaker 1: to the right answer. But it is a hard thing 86 00:04:11,120 --> 00:04:14,040 Speaker 1: and something that Barry has has always embraced. And it 87 00:04:14,040 --> 00:04:16,240 Speaker 1: doesn't work for everybody, you know, some people don't don't 88 00:04:16,279 --> 00:04:20,400 Speaker 1: like that kind of culture. But but it worked well 89 00:04:20,440 --> 00:04:23,240 Speaker 1: for me and my personality and and we end up 90 00:04:23,240 --> 00:04:25,080 Speaker 1: getting along. But I didn't really get to Nobury even 91 00:04:25,080 --> 00:04:26,440 Speaker 1: though I was in meeting with Barry. I protaly didn't 92 00:04:26,440 --> 00:04:28,520 Speaker 1: get the no Bury it until several years into being 93 00:04:28,560 --> 00:04:32,680 Speaker 1: a right And did you anticipate when you got here 94 00:04:32,760 --> 00:04:35,080 Speaker 1: that you would be here for for this long? Because 95 00:04:35,200 --> 00:04:38,000 Speaker 1: you know, in today's day and age like it's a 96 00:04:38,040 --> 00:04:41,279 Speaker 1: pretty long tenure at one place, it is? Uh? And 97 00:04:42,560 --> 00:04:47,279 Speaker 1: did I anticipate it? No, I definitely did not anticipate it. 98 00:04:47,320 --> 00:04:53,200 Speaker 1: But did I desire that? Yeah. When I remember when 99 00:04:53,240 --> 00:04:56,040 Speaker 1: I was interviewing for jobs out of investment banking, I 100 00:04:57,279 --> 00:04:59,440 Speaker 1: very quickly knew I didn't want to be an investment banker, 101 00:04:59,760 --> 00:05:01,400 Speaker 1: and and I was learning a lot, and I was 102 00:05:01,440 --> 00:05:02,880 Speaker 1: grateful for all the people that I was working with. 103 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:05,280 Speaker 1: I just knew that that wasn't for me long term. 104 00:05:05,320 --> 00:05:07,480 Speaker 1: So I started doing interviews. And one of the things 105 00:05:07,520 --> 00:05:11,400 Speaker 1: that investment bankers frequently interview for his private equity or 106 00:05:11,440 --> 00:05:14,680 Speaker 1: asset ban mantural alterna advances, and I was uh. So, 107 00:05:14,720 --> 00:05:18,200 Speaker 1: I was interviewing with a private a great private equity fund, 108 00:05:19,279 --> 00:05:21,599 Speaker 1: and they said, what do you want to uh, you know, 109 00:05:21,680 --> 00:05:22,960 Speaker 1: talk to us about what you want to do or 110 00:05:22,960 --> 00:05:24,440 Speaker 1: where you want to be in a few years. I said, 111 00:05:24,400 --> 00:05:28,599 Speaker 1: I'd like to be, you know, in a company, running 112 00:05:28,600 --> 00:05:32,160 Speaker 1: a company, you know, driving business, building a product. And 113 00:05:32,240 --> 00:05:34,120 Speaker 1: they said, well, then what are you doing here? I said, 114 00:05:34,120 --> 00:05:37,279 Speaker 1: A good point, and so I left and I actually 115 00:05:37,320 --> 00:05:39,840 Speaker 1: started talking to Ice then, and I thought when I 116 00:05:39,880 --> 00:05:43,279 Speaker 1: went there, I want to be a part of building something. 117 00:05:43,920 --> 00:05:46,720 Speaker 1: And uh, Barry is very much a builder, and I 118 00:05:46,760 --> 00:05:49,000 Speaker 1: see as a company very much about building and building 119 00:05:49,000 --> 00:05:51,520 Speaker 1: companies and uh and so I got very lucky in 120 00:05:51,560 --> 00:05:53,360 Speaker 1: that sense. Well, and as you pointed out, I mean 121 00:05:53,520 --> 00:05:56,040 Speaker 1: M and A has been at the core of this 122 00:05:56,120 --> 00:06:00,640 Speaker 1: company in a lot of ways, Um, both buying and 123 00:06:00,839 --> 00:06:03,360 Speaker 1: selling in many ways and spinning off. And we'll get 124 00:06:03,400 --> 00:06:07,640 Speaker 1: to that, I'm sure a little later in the conversation. Um, 125 00:06:07,680 --> 00:06:10,280 Speaker 1: how does that sort of help define the culture because 126 00:06:10,320 --> 00:06:12,560 Speaker 1: there's a lot of movement, and there's a lot of 127 00:06:13,160 --> 00:06:16,719 Speaker 1: constant uh coming and going in many ways, and a 128 00:06:16,760 --> 00:06:20,560 Speaker 1: lot of innovation, I would imagine, but also potential friction 129 00:06:20,600 --> 00:06:22,920 Speaker 1: among all of these new things happening all the time. 130 00:06:22,960 --> 00:06:25,640 Speaker 1: How do you manage that? Uh, Well, there's a lot 131 00:06:25,640 --> 00:06:29,880 Speaker 1: in there. We we we like the friction. Um. We 132 00:06:30,040 --> 00:06:33,919 Speaker 1: like that things challenge themselves and each other. We frequently 133 00:06:33,920 --> 00:06:36,680 Speaker 1: have multiple businesses in the same category competing with each other. 134 00:06:37,120 --> 00:06:40,000 Speaker 1: Our view is we'd rather disrupt ourselves than have somebody 135 00:06:40,160 --> 00:06:43,480 Speaker 1: disrupt us, and so so we're we're often if we 136 00:06:43,520 --> 00:06:46,920 Speaker 1: have a thesis on a category, we want several teams 137 00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:49,640 Speaker 1: going after it and several businesses going after it. And 138 00:06:49,680 --> 00:06:52,520 Speaker 1: it's okay if they compete with each other and challenge 139 00:06:52,520 --> 00:06:56,560 Speaker 1: each other in in going after that um and result. 140 00:06:56,640 --> 00:07:00,520 Speaker 1: Because in many ways you can you can predict some 141 00:07:00,560 --> 00:07:02,520 Speaker 1: components of the future. No one can predict the future, 142 00:07:02,560 --> 00:07:05,440 Speaker 1: but you can say there's here's one way of doing something, 143 00:07:05,520 --> 00:07:07,680 Speaker 1: and here's a better way of doing something. Five years 144 00:07:07,680 --> 00:07:09,159 Speaker 1: from now or ten years from now, our people are 145 00:07:09,160 --> 00:07:11,120 Speaker 1: gonna be doing it the better way or the worst way. Well, 146 00:07:11,120 --> 00:07:12,880 Speaker 1: they're definitely gonna be doing it the better way. Right, 147 00:07:13,200 --> 00:07:14,560 Speaker 1: you don't know where you're going to get the right 148 00:07:14,600 --> 00:07:16,520 Speaker 1: team that that's going to figure out how to do 149 00:07:16,560 --> 00:07:18,800 Speaker 1: the better way better than the other people figuring out 150 00:07:18,880 --> 00:07:21,360 Speaker 1: the better way. But you you do know that that's 151 00:07:21,360 --> 00:07:23,200 Speaker 1: what the future is going to look like. And so 152 00:07:23,240 --> 00:07:24,600 Speaker 1: what we try and do is put a lot of 153 00:07:24,600 --> 00:07:27,920 Speaker 1: bets against that future so that that we can meaningfully 154 00:07:27,960 --> 00:07:32,520 Speaker 1: participate in it. And uh that that sometimes leads the conflict, 155 00:07:32,600 --> 00:07:35,320 Speaker 1: that sometimes leads to multiple bets in the same category 156 00:07:35,400 --> 00:07:38,680 Speaker 1: or friction in your words, and that's something that's okay 157 00:07:38,680 --> 00:07:42,080 Speaker 1: with us, right. It feels like it's baked in it is. 158 00:07:42,440 --> 00:07:46,760 Speaker 1: I was we uh one of our board members, h 159 00:07:47,080 --> 00:07:49,920 Speaker 1: Chelsea Clinton. We we did a town hall yesterday with 160 00:07:50,000 --> 00:07:52,360 Speaker 1: a bunch of employees. So I was, you know, I 161 00:07:52,440 --> 00:07:55,440 Speaker 1: was in your seat interviewing her, and she said something 162 00:07:55,440 --> 00:07:59,480 Speaker 1: which I thought was very interesting. It's it's a a 163 00:07:59,560 --> 00:08:03,840 Speaker 1: sort of revolution on something or a turn on something 164 00:08:03,840 --> 00:08:07,400 Speaker 1: that we say internally, which is inertia is a very 165 00:08:07,440 --> 00:08:09,840 Speaker 1: powerful and the most underrated force and in in business, both 166 00:08:09,840 --> 00:08:13,119 Speaker 1: for good and for bad. And what Chelsea described said 167 00:08:13,680 --> 00:08:17,160 Speaker 1: from her observance as a board member, is that we 168 00:08:18,160 --> 00:08:20,920 Speaker 1: go out of our way to reject inertia, you know, 169 00:08:21,040 --> 00:08:25,080 Speaker 1: and again for good and for bad. Don't don't overestimate 170 00:08:25,160 --> 00:08:29,720 Speaker 1: a tailwind. Uh, don't don't believe too much that that 171 00:08:29,880 --> 00:08:35,520 Speaker 1: a tailwind is your own brilliance. Um. And also don't 172 00:08:35,640 --> 00:08:38,640 Speaker 1: be sort of intimidated by those those headwinds and figure 173 00:08:38,640 --> 00:08:41,160 Speaker 1: out how to push through that. And I think that 174 00:08:41,160 --> 00:08:44,800 Speaker 1: that is an important point in there. And so, you know, 175 00:08:45,559 --> 00:08:47,680 Speaker 1: going back to two thousand three and sort of fast 176 00:08:47,679 --> 00:08:50,160 Speaker 1: forwarding to the present, the internet is a very different 177 00:08:50,160 --> 00:08:53,280 Speaker 1: place than it was in two thousand three. How do 178 00:08:53,360 --> 00:08:55,800 Speaker 1: you define the Internet? It's a big question, But how 179 00:08:55,800 --> 00:08:58,200 Speaker 1: do you define the Internet from a business perspective in 180 00:08:58,200 --> 00:09:06,160 Speaker 1: twenty nineteen, Um, what where the Internet? The sort of 181 00:09:06,679 --> 00:09:10,000 Speaker 1: mind blowing thing In the beginning of the Internet, the 182 00:09:10,320 --> 00:09:12,160 Speaker 1: sort of I don't know, we'll call it the first phase. 183 00:09:12,160 --> 00:09:13,880 Speaker 1: I'll call the first phase for now of the internet 184 00:09:14,040 --> 00:09:20,679 Speaker 1: was choice and breadth. You recall when Google came out, 185 00:09:20,760 --> 00:09:23,080 Speaker 1: people that they're big thing was one of you know, 186 00:09:24,080 --> 00:09:26,760 Speaker 1: million results when when you do a search and people's 187 00:09:26,800 --> 00:09:28,960 Speaker 1: minds were blown by that. Appropriately, I mean, it was 188 00:09:29,000 --> 00:09:34,760 Speaker 1: just amazing that you could ask about some uh, Nike 189 00:09:35,280 --> 00:09:39,679 Speaker 1: shoes of some particular year and see ten million results 190 00:09:39,720 --> 00:09:46,040 Speaker 1: of about that and UH, that was the first and 191 00:09:46,120 --> 00:09:48,520 Speaker 1: really interesting phase of the Internet. And in a way 192 00:09:49,640 --> 00:09:53,040 Speaker 1: it's gone, it's gone the complete opposite of that today. 193 00:09:53,080 --> 00:09:55,480 Speaker 1: So today it's actually about how do you narrow the 194 00:09:55,559 --> 00:09:58,040 Speaker 1: choice right? How do you get to the one answer? 195 00:09:58,280 --> 00:10:01,320 Speaker 1: Because now all ways ten million you can't really do 196 00:10:01,320 --> 00:10:05,680 Speaker 1: anything with ten million U choices. You you that that's 197 00:10:05,679 --> 00:10:08,040 Speaker 1: not that helpful. As much as it is fascinating, it's 198 00:10:08,080 --> 00:10:10,440 Speaker 1: not that helpful. You need to get to the answer right, 199 00:10:10,520 --> 00:10:13,080 Speaker 1: the one answer. And so now all the platforms are 200 00:10:13,080 --> 00:10:17,400 Speaker 1: about not giving choice, but giving uh a solution, right, 201 00:10:17,600 --> 00:10:20,599 Speaker 1: And we're thinking about that in a lot of our businesses. 202 00:10:20,760 --> 00:10:25,400 Speaker 1: Take um Angie Homes Services for example, where we are 203 00:10:25,440 --> 00:10:28,720 Speaker 1: matching consumers with home service professionals. Right now, we match 204 00:10:28,720 --> 00:10:32,480 Speaker 1: you with with several and UH, to the extent someone 205 00:10:32,520 --> 00:10:34,440 Speaker 1: wants that, we will continue to match them with several. 206 00:10:34,679 --> 00:10:36,920 Speaker 1: What we see is many consumers want to be matched 207 00:10:36,920 --> 00:10:39,040 Speaker 1: with just the right one. Just just tell me. I. 208 00:10:39,120 --> 00:10:42,280 Speaker 1: We've grown up knowing platforms, knowing the Internet, and we 209 00:10:42,320 --> 00:10:44,200 Speaker 1: know which brands we want to trust and which brands 210 00:10:44,200 --> 00:10:46,240 Speaker 1: we don't want to trust. And if it's a brand retrust, 211 00:10:46,280 --> 00:10:48,840 Speaker 1: just save me the trouble, give me the answer. And 212 00:10:48,840 --> 00:10:51,960 Speaker 1: and that's what what we're we're trying to do now 213 00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:54,040 Speaker 1: with Angie and with other our businesses too. I mean, 214 00:10:54,040 --> 00:10:56,720 Speaker 1: it's it's it's harder in dating. I'd like to say 215 00:10:56,720 --> 00:10:59,720 Speaker 1: that we could find a person and we can say, okay, boom, 216 00:10:59,720 --> 00:11:03,160 Speaker 1: here's a person for you, married next week, and and 217 00:11:03,200 --> 00:11:06,440 Speaker 1: off you go. I don't think that's realistic ever in 218 00:11:06,440 --> 00:11:08,640 Speaker 1: that category. But we can get better with our algorithms. 219 00:11:08,679 --> 00:11:10,640 Speaker 1: We can't get better at matching people as we learn 220 00:11:10,720 --> 00:11:13,600 Speaker 1: more so that you don't have to go through, you know, 221 00:11:13,800 --> 00:11:16,880 Speaker 1: hundreds of conversations, maybe you go through dozens of conversations 222 00:11:16,920 --> 00:11:19,720 Speaker 1: or less than that, and to get to find people 223 00:11:19,720 --> 00:11:22,000 Speaker 1: that you might be compatible with. And when you think 224 00:11:22,080 --> 00:11:26,520 Speaker 1: about sort of the Internet again broadly defined in twenty nineteen, 225 00:11:26,600 --> 00:11:28,839 Speaker 1: it feels like if we went back to two thousand three, 226 00:11:28,880 --> 00:11:32,480 Speaker 1: or certainly even in earlier, there was a lot of enthusiasm, 227 00:11:32,520 --> 00:11:35,880 Speaker 1: you know, a lot of just excitement about what it 228 00:11:35,920 --> 00:11:39,680 Speaker 1: could be. Today it feels like there's more skepticism, you know, 229 00:11:39,679 --> 00:11:42,000 Speaker 1: whether it's from regulators, whether it's from some of the 230 00:11:42,000 --> 00:11:45,679 Speaker 1: companies themselves, whether it's from consumers. How do you read 231 00:11:45,840 --> 00:11:48,560 Speaker 1: this moment where we are, you know, sort of broadly 232 00:11:48,600 --> 00:11:50,560 Speaker 1: defined as this sort of tech lash for lack of 233 00:11:50,559 --> 00:11:53,120 Speaker 1: a better term. It's funny because it's the exact same 234 00:11:53,200 --> 00:11:55,880 Speaker 1: thing that was what everyone was so excited about in 235 00:11:55,920 --> 00:12:00,760 Speaker 1: the beginning, which was the the the monopolies of the 236 00:12:00,840 --> 00:12:04,080 Speaker 1: duopolies or the or the the power that was concentrated 237 00:12:04,240 --> 00:12:07,840 Speaker 1: in the hands of a few. The Internet came through 238 00:12:07,880 --> 00:12:10,240 Speaker 1: and said no, no more, We're gonna distribute this and 239 00:12:10,280 --> 00:12:12,559 Speaker 1: anyone could do anything. Anyone's empowered. You can start a business, 240 00:12:12,600 --> 00:12:14,760 Speaker 1: you can reach consumers. You don't need to go through 241 00:12:15,040 --> 00:12:19,520 Speaker 1: a a privately owned platform to reach end users. You 242 00:12:19,559 --> 00:12:22,320 Speaker 1: don't need an infinite amount of money to reach end users. 243 00:12:22,320 --> 00:12:24,040 Speaker 1: You can open your shop on the Internet and boom, 244 00:12:24,080 --> 00:12:29,160 Speaker 1: you can reach the world. And that distribution was phenomenal 245 00:12:29,200 --> 00:12:31,559 Speaker 1: and led to so much innovation and so much excitement. 246 00:12:31,640 --> 00:12:36,720 Speaker 1: That's why people were so excited. What happened is that 247 00:12:36,880 --> 00:12:41,920 Speaker 1: power got reconcentrated again and a handful of hands, uh. 248 00:12:41,960 --> 00:12:44,720 Speaker 1: And those are the companies that are in the headlines 249 00:12:44,760 --> 00:12:48,160 Speaker 1: and part of that tech lash, and those companies do 250 00:12:48,320 --> 00:12:53,720 Speaker 1: have enormous power they're kingmakers of other companies, of individuals, 251 00:12:53,760 --> 00:12:59,400 Speaker 1: of of UH politicians for not necessarily by design, but 252 00:12:59,480 --> 00:13:03,880 Speaker 1: sometimes by accident. UH. That is a you know that 253 00:13:03,880 --> 00:13:05,720 Speaker 1: that goes back to that scary thing, and people don't 254 00:13:05,720 --> 00:13:07,600 Speaker 1: like to be in that position where there's a handful 255 00:13:07,640 --> 00:13:10,520 Speaker 1: of people with a very significant amount of power. It's 256 00:13:10,520 --> 00:13:14,800 Speaker 1: a sort of more American democratic thing to see that distributed. 257 00:13:14,880 --> 00:13:16,760 Speaker 1: And I think people want to see that happen again. 258 00:13:16,920 --> 00:13:18,760 Speaker 1: And what do you see as I a c S 259 00:13:18,920 --> 00:13:22,600 Speaker 1: role in essentially combating that. Well, our biggest thing is 260 00:13:22,640 --> 00:13:27,800 Speaker 1: having great independent products and having those products resonate with users. 261 00:13:28,200 --> 00:13:33,440 Speaker 1: If we are UH, if we can communicate a very 262 00:13:33,480 --> 00:13:37,000 Speaker 1: compelling product experience in our category to a user, I 263 00:13:37,040 --> 00:13:39,640 Speaker 1: believe we can win. And I believe we can we 264 00:13:39,720 --> 00:13:42,760 Speaker 1: have historically, and I believe we can continue to defeat 265 00:13:42,800 --> 00:13:47,400 Speaker 1: the giants. UM. The giants can compete with us, sometimes 266 00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:51,719 Speaker 1: over implicitly, sometimes explicitly, but they do compete with us. 267 00:13:52,120 --> 00:13:56,120 Speaker 1: We also benefit hugely and have benefited usually from their scale, 268 00:13:56,559 --> 00:13:59,679 Speaker 1: UH knowing how to use those platforms to to acquire 269 00:13:59,720 --> 00:14:04,040 Speaker 1: audio its, to to interact with with customers or potential customers, 270 00:14:04,400 --> 00:14:06,920 Speaker 1: and those platforms have been hugely helpful to us in 271 00:14:07,040 --> 00:14:10,480 Speaker 1: building our business, but also increasingly as they look for growth, 272 00:14:10,520 --> 00:14:12,439 Speaker 1: they are competing with us, and that's something that we 273 00:14:12,559 --> 00:14:14,560 Speaker 1: have to do and you just win that on on 274 00:14:14,559 --> 00:14:18,160 Speaker 1: a better product. So help me understand. One of your 275 00:14:18,200 --> 00:14:21,200 Speaker 1: strategies seems to be keep me honest here sort of 276 00:14:21,240 --> 00:14:25,400 Speaker 1: a build, build and spin or build and sell. Obviously 277 00:14:25,440 --> 00:14:28,280 Speaker 1: that happens with with matches in the process of happening 278 00:14:28,680 --> 00:14:31,840 Speaker 1: with match And I think you've said that you want 279 00:14:31,920 --> 00:14:34,520 Speaker 1: things only to get so big. You're not empire building 280 00:14:34,800 --> 00:14:38,120 Speaker 1: to something said, help me understand the thinking underneath that. Sure, 281 00:14:38,200 --> 00:14:41,320 Speaker 1: so I'll correct one small thing, which is build and 282 00:14:41,400 --> 00:14:44,920 Speaker 1: sell is rarely something that we do. We don't think 283 00:14:44,920 --> 00:14:47,960 Speaker 1: of a spin as a sale. We have sold companies 284 00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:49,880 Speaker 1: that generally, when we're selling a company, it's just because 285 00:14:49,920 --> 00:14:52,400 Speaker 1: we haven't figured out how to make it work for us. 286 00:14:53,080 --> 00:14:56,560 Speaker 1: Um it doesn't sort of fit and we we can't. 287 00:14:56,680 --> 00:14:59,720 Speaker 1: We can't get it going and in our ambition and 288 00:15:00,080 --> 00:15:03,160 Speaker 1: else may be able to do it better. Uh, spinning 289 00:15:03,240 --> 00:15:05,240 Speaker 1: is different. Spinning, it's our shareholders get it. We just 290 00:15:05,280 --> 00:15:07,200 Speaker 1: give it to our shareholders and they can continue to 291 00:15:07,200 --> 00:15:09,920 Speaker 1: hold it forever. And when we look at our track 292 00:15:09,920 --> 00:15:13,000 Speaker 1: record over time. We we presume that somebody comes in 293 00:15:13,040 --> 00:15:14,600 Speaker 1: and from the moment they come in, they continue to 294 00:15:14,640 --> 00:15:16,400 Speaker 1: hold everything forever. They can just hold it in separate 295 00:15:16,400 --> 00:15:21,200 Speaker 1: pockets instead of all in one pocket. Uh. And the 296 00:15:21,240 --> 00:15:24,960 Speaker 1: reason that we do that is it there's lots of 297 00:15:25,240 --> 00:15:28,880 Speaker 1: micro reasons, and sometimes there's tactical reasons, but the main 298 00:15:28,920 --> 00:15:31,480 Speaker 1: reason that we do it is we like the process 299 00:15:31,520 --> 00:15:33,960 Speaker 1: of building. We like the process of starting over. And 300 00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:38,200 Speaker 1: when you have something huge, it overshadows everything else. And 301 00:15:38,280 --> 00:15:40,240 Speaker 1: Match is such a good business, is doing so well 302 00:15:40,360 --> 00:15:45,920 Speaker 1: right now, and and and investors care tremendously about it, 303 00:15:46,360 --> 00:15:50,920 Speaker 1: and anything else we do is basically irrelevant relative to 304 00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:54,280 Speaker 1: how many subscribers Tender had in the quarter. And when 305 00:15:54,280 --> 00:15:56,720 Speaker 1: you get to that level, at some point you say, Okay, 306 00:15:56,760 --> 00:15:59,520 Speaker 1: this thing has the ability to be off on its own. 307 00:16:00,160 --> 00:16:02,760 Speaker 1: And if we if we put that thing at zone, 308 00:16:02,800 --> 00:16:04,880 Speaker 1: then we can focus again on the smaller things. Because 309 00:16:05,400 --> 00:16:07,600 Speaker 1: when we're focused on the smaller things, you put that 310 00:16:07,680 --> 00:16:09,520 Speaker 1: kind of energy in it, there's nowhere to hide and 311 00:16:09,560 --> 00:16:11,840 Speaker 1: you you've gotta uh, you've gotta make those work. And 312 00:16:12,320 --> 00:16:15,880 Speaker 1: we like that process. So Match underway. It is the 313 00:16:15,920 --> 00:16:19,440 Speaker 1: idea you'll do something similar with Angie Home Services. I'd 314 00:16:19,480 --> 00:16:22,160 Speaker 1: hope to at some point. Uh We've said right now 315 00:16:22,160 --> 00:16:24,640 Speaker 1: we're not focused on that. We're focused on trying to 316 00:16:24,640 --> 00:16:28,520 Speaker 1: get matched on um but at some point that that 317 00:16:29,120 --> 00:16:32,040 Speaker 1: that very well may make sense. But you know, there's 318 00:16:32,040 --> 00:16:35,640 Speaker 1: all kinds of considerations and and where and when, in 319 00:16:35,720 --> 00:16:38,400 Speaker 1: timing and how and all those things are are kind 320 00:16:38,440 --> 00:16:42,040 Speaker 1: of wide open. And so when you look through the 321 00:16:42,040 --> 00:16:44,720 Speaker 1: rest of the portfolio, where are you spending a lot 322 00:16:44,720 --> 00:16:50,920 Speaker 1: of your time either building or uh, you know, expanding, 323 00:16:50,960 --> 00:16:52,480 Speaker 1: what are you what are you most excited about? I 324 00:16:52,560 --> 00:16:54,600 Speaker 1: know that's like having you pick among your children. But 325 00:16:55,800 --> 00:16:59,880 Speaker 1: uh so, first of all, you maybe do it in 326 00:17:00,040 --> 00:17:04,119 Speaker 1: terms of size. Angie is a huge one and is 327 00:17:04,359 --> 00:17:07,680 Speaker 1: a I think a fantastic business in a fantastic category 328 00:17:07,760 --> 00:17:11,080 Speaker 1: with an incredible lead that we can do really cool 329 00:17:11,119 --> 00:17:15,560 Speaker 1: things on product, and we're we're doing kind of the 330 00:17:15,560 --> 00:17:23,159 Speaker 1: most aggressive product evolution in Angie's history right now, and 331 00:17:23,200 --> 00:17:25,080 Speaker 1: we're very optimistic about what we can do with then. 332 00:17:25,160 --> 00:17:27,480 Speaker 1: So that's pretty exciting. I'm I'm spending a decent amount 333 00:17:27,520 --> 00:17:33,560 Speaker 1: of time on that. Uh. Next is uh in I 334 00:17:33,600 --> 00:17:36,439 Speaker 1: guess we could do it in order of profit, but 335 00:17:36,960 --> 00:17:42,400 Speaker 1: dot Dash. Dot Dash is I think the modern publisher, uh, 336 00:17:42,520 --> 00:17:46,280 Speaker 1: digital publisher, the all these other businesses have been in 337 00:17:46,280 --> 00:17:49,280 Speaker 1: the publishing category. There there's been a tremendous rise and 338 00:17:49,320 --> 00:17:52,119 Speaker 1: fall of publishing business and dot dash has just stayed 339 00:17:52,280 --> 00:17:55,560 Speaker 1: very focused on delivering people content what they call need 340 00:17:55,640 --> 00:17:58,080 Speaker 1: to know content. You can call it sort of pull 341 00:17:58,160 --> 00:18:01,439 Speaker 1: content as against push content. Push content. Is what you 342 00:18:01,480 --> 00:18:03,480 Speaker 1: and I are doing right now is we're presuming that 343 00:18:03,520 --> 00:18:05,600 Speaker 1: people want to hear from one of us and we're 344 00:18:05,640 --> 00:18:07,560 Speaker 1: doing an interview and we're shipping it out. They do, 345 00:18:07,640 --> 00:18:11,760 Speaker 1: I guarantee you they did. What what Dash is doing 346 00:18:11,800 --> 00:18:15,000 Speaker 1: is saying we know people are looking for this thing specifically, 347 00:18:15,040 --> 00:18:17,320 Speaker 1: which is what are the best hiking boots? Or uh, 348 00:18:17,920 --> 00:18:20,000 Speaker 1: what do I do about lower back pain? Or things 349 00:18:20,040 --> 00:18:23,760 Speaker 1: like that, and we're making sure that we create the 350 00:18:23,840 --> 00:18:27,840 Speaker 1: best content to answer those questions. What we say freshest, fastest, fewest, 351 00:18:28,359 --> 00:18:31,680 Speaker 1: freshest meaning to the extent there's anything updated in the category, 352 00:18:31,720 --> 00:18:35,320 Speaker 1: we're always constantly updating that. Fastest meaning we actually deliver 353 00:18:35,520 --> 00:18:39,200 Speaker 1: our our site faster than anybody else. And fewest meaning 354 00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:40,800 Speaker 1: having the fewest ads so that there's no room for 355 00:18:40,800 --> 00:18:42,720 Speaker 1: anybody else or no reason for anybody else to come in. 356 00:18:42,800 --> 00:18:44,680 Speaker 1: We want a great consumer experience. We don't want to 357 00:18:44,720 --> 00:18:48,160 Speaker 1: over monetize it, and and nobody else is doing that 358 00:18:48,240 --> 00:18:50,600 Speaker 1: in that area. And we're finding that we can do 359 00:18:50,640 --> 00:18:55,119 Speaker 1: it very well, and we're we're going to outspend everybody 360 00:18:55,160 --> 00:18:59,320 Speaker 1: and having the best content in there. It's a I 361 00:18:59,800 --> 00:19:02,720 Speaker 1: am viciously make a Netflix analogy, and that what Netflix 362 00:19:02,800 --> 00:19:06,480 Speaker 1: is doing on video content, we're trying to do on 363 00:19:07,320 --> 00:19:10,080 Speaker 1: sort of print or or this need to know content 364 00:19:11,080 --> 00:19:15,320 Speaker 1: outspending by far the best content in the category. And uh, 365 00:19:15,400 --> 00:19:17,000 Speaker 1: it's turning out to be a real business with a 366 00:19:17,040 --> 00:19:20,400 Speaker 1: real mode, nicely profitable and I think great growth potential. 367 00:19:20,440 --> 00:19:22,960 Speaker 1: All right, so let's go full white space here, you know, 368 00:19:23,080 --> 00:19:27,359 Speaker 1: beyond what you're doing now. When you're entertaining new ideas, 369 00:19:27,720 --> 00:19:29,920 Speaker 1: it needs you to tip your hand necessarily about the 370 00:19:29,960 --> 00:19:32,480 Speaker 1: next bit of while that you're welcome to um, But 371 00:19:32,680 --> 00:19:35,600 Speaker 1: what what do you see out there for a consumer 372 00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:39,280 Speaker 1: in the media world and the publishing world, in the 373 00:19:39,359 --> 00:19:45,520 Speaker 1: broad internet defined where maybe there's some maybe there's some space, 374 00:19:47,280 --> 00:19:49,040 Speaker 1: there's a theme that's hitting on a bunch of our 375 00:19:49,080 --> 00:19:53,080 Speaker 1: businesses and totally new businesses, new categories altogether which is 376 00:19:53,119 --> 00:19:57,119 Speaker 1: how people find work and get work. We have a 377 00:19:57,240 --> 00:20:00,800 Speaker 1: very very tiny business today which is doing that called 378 00:20:00,800 --> 00:20:03,920 Speaker 1: Blue Crew, which is in the light industrial matching um 379 00:20:04,920 --> 00:20:09,960 Speaker 1: uh temp labor, hourly workers with employers and uh that's 380 00:20:10,040 --> 00:20:15,440 Speaker 1: a really interesting one. But in more broadly, the process 381 00:20:15,480 --> 00:20:18,920 Speaker 1: of hiring and finding people who can do work, whether 382 00:20:18,920 --> 00:20:21,600 Speaker 1: it's for an individual in their home, whether it's for 383 00:20:21,680 --> 00:20:24,399 Speaker 1: an employer with a full time employee and employer with 384 00:20:24,400 --> 00:20:28,399 Speaker 1: a part time employee. That entire process happens offline, and 385 00:20:28,480 --> 00:20:32,439 Speaker 1: software is very kind of minimally involved. It's involved the 386 00:20:32,440 --> 00:20:35,680 Speaker 1: front end, which is you can find people's resumes or 387 00:20:35,720 --> 00:20:38,639 Speaker 1: lists of resumes or lists of list things online. But 388 00:20:38,760 --> 00:20:41,680 Speaker 1: that matching process I think can be done very well 389 00:20:41,720 --> 00:20:44,320 Speaker 1: with software, and we're doing that in Blue Crew in 390 00:20:44,320 --> 00:20:46,280 Speaker 1: this one area, and I think it can be done 391 00:20:46,359 --> 00:20:49,480 Speaker 1: in lots of areas, uh in a really interesting way. 392 00:20:49,800 --> 00:20:51,440 Speaker 1: And so we're spending a lot of time thinking about 393 00:20:51,440 --> 00:20:53,520 Speaker 1: that and pretty excited about it. What's your one big 394 00:20:53,600 --> 00:20:56,480 Speaker 1: lesson so far in your career? Best advice or best 395 00:20:56,560 --> 00:20:59,200 Speaker 1: best advice you've gotten, our best advice you give now 396 00:20:59,359 --> 00:21:05,600 Speaker 1: as a CEO, uh Man, there's a lot. There's there's 397 00:21:06,119 --> 00:21:11,399 Speaker 1: a lot to choose from advice I've gotten. Um, my 398 00:21:12,119 --> 00:21:17,080 Speaker 1: favorite is really something that that Barry has pushed always 399 00:21:17,200 --> 00:21:23,880 Speaker 1: at I A C. Is think bigger and be ambitious 400 00:21:23,920 --> 00:21:27,080 Speaker 1: and passionate. That's what are the things that get people excited. 401 00:21:27,560 --> 00:21:31,679 Speaker 1: That's what's great for deciding your career. You know, thinking 402 00:21:31,720 --> 00:21:35,320 Speaker 1: big and thinking ambitious and thinking passionately about something that 403 00:21:35,400 --> 00:21:37,240 Speaker 1: means you're gonna be doing something you love. That means 404 00:21:37,280 --> 00:21:39,639 Speaker 1: you're going to be doing something that that excites you. 405 00:21:39,720 --> 00:21:41,720 Speaker 1: That means you're going to be doing something that has 406 00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:45,359 Speaker 1: great potential. And and think about it in a big way, 407 00:21:45,440 --> 00:21:47,439 Speaker 1: not in a small way. And if you if you 408 00:21:47,680 --> 00:21:49,439 Speaker 1: think in a small way, the best you do is 409 00:21:49,440 --> 00:21:51,160 Speaker 1: achieve that you think in a big way. You you 410 00:21:51,800 --> 00:21:54,840 Speaker 1: and maybe you get a chance of achieving that big thing. 411 00:21:55,119 --> 00:21:57,840 Speaker 1: All right. Joey Levin, thank you so much. Thank you 412 00:21:58,200 --> 00:22:00,240 Speaker 1: good to be here. That was Joey Levi and I 413 00:22:00,440 --> 00:22:03,119 Speaker 1: c CEO. Great conversation. Jason, thank you. I mean, what 414 00:22:03,200 --> 00:22:06,160 Speaker 1: I really liked about it was catching up with him 415 00:22:06,200 --> 00:22:08,840 Speaker 1: in sort of a fulsome way, you know, understanding where 416 00:22:08,880 --> 00:22:11,360 Speaker 1: he came from. He started on Wall Street. He quickly 417 00:22:11,720 --> 00:22:13,720 Speaker 1: realizes he doesn't want to do that goes to work 418 00:22:13,720 --> 00:22:16,160 Speaker 1: for Barry Diller, one of the most iconic business people 419 00:22:16,160 --> 00:22:18,520 Speaker 1: of our time. Like a great teacher, right totally. I 420 00:22:18,520 --> 00:22:21,720 Speaker 1: mean you learned so much by osmosis in some ways. 421 00:22:21,760 --> 00:22:24,840 Speaker 1: But what Joey Levin now has ahead of him is 422 00:22:25,200 --> 00:22:31,040 Speaker 1: the ability to really shape content publishing, even how we 423 00:22:31,280 --> 00:22:34,000 Speaker 1: find someone to fix something at our house. They've got 424 00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:37,000 Speaker 1: this massive platform that's going to be very influential going forward. Well, 425 00:22:37,040 --> 00:22:39,760 Speaker 1: it's a great conversation. Uh, and you've covered so much ground. 426 00:22:39,840 --> 00:22:42,320 Speaker 1: You've been listening to Bloomberg Business Week Extra and be 427 00:22:42,320 --> 00:22:44,800 Speaker 1: sure to tune into Bloomberg Business Week Radio Live Monday 428 00:22:44,800 --> 00:22:47,760 Speaker 1: through Friday at two pm Wall Street Time on Bloomberg Radio. 429 00:22:47,800 --> 00:22:50,720 Speaker 1: I'm Jason Kelly and I'm Carol Masser. This is Bloomberg