Topics Covered

• Zillow and Trulia's beginnings during the "Web 2.0" era in the mid-2000's 
• Zillow, Trulia and other online players' place within the massive US real estate market
• The lengthy "dance" between Zillow and Trulia and earlier aborted merger talks between the two
• The difficulty of "true mergers" among private companies and why the path is easier for public companies 
• Public company shareholders' influence and role in M&A transactions 
• Details of the blazingly fast negotiations (27 days start to finish!) per disclosures in the SEC filings (scroll down to "Background of the Mergers")
• Structuring the deal and incentivizing Trulia and Zillow mangers to stay and continue growing as separate brands
• Trulia cofounder Sami Inkinen's whereabouts during the merger negotiations 
• The experience going through a lengthy FTC review of the merger, and defining what the relevant "market" is the FTC should be considering
• Introducing our new acquisition category: a "time machine acquisition" ;) (h/t Kathleen)
• Zillow Group's overall approach to acquisitions, folding into its broader HR strategy 
• Zillow founder Rich Barton's startup thesis of searching for "What piece of marketplace information do people crave and don't have?"

Follow-ups

• Snap Inc. Spectacles!

Hot Takes

• Twitter-Disney rumors, according to "people familiar with matter"! 
• AppLovin's journey from bootstrapped startup to $1.4B exit

Carve Outs

• Ben: The Marvel Symphonic Universe
• David: Shoe Dog by Phil Knight