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MoxiFund 2018: Giving Back the Moxi Way
For Moxians, 2018 was filled with many successes, both inside and outside the office. Specifically, it was a year where we all had the opportunity to give back to our community and make an impact.
We have a proud history of the “give back” attitude. Over the years, we’ve raised over $100K for local charities. For example, this year we released $15,000 to the Pike Place Market Foundation and $2,900 to Ryther House. And of course, we have our own holiday traditions as well. Each year we put up the Moxi Giving Tree to give local families what they need most this season.
In addition, we recently expanded our volunteer program beyond our annual all-company volunteer days to include small team events so our employees can get out into the community more often. Here’s an excerpt from our latest Moxi volunteering event at Northwest Harvest Cherry Street Food Bank from our Senior Payroll/HR Specialist, William Linafelter:
“One of the coolest facts about Northwest Harvest, is that they do not require people to show any ID to receive food, which we were told during our initial briefing. If you’re hungry, you get fed. No questions asked. The line for food sometimes goes up the block and around the corner, so the goal in 2019 is to provide enough meals to feed every seat in CenturyLink Field 27 times.
The weather was pretty chilly the day we volunteered, and our team was stationed outside. (Thank goodness for jackets!) Skyler Garrison (Quality Assurance Engineer) was in charge of onions and the most essential of human needs, toilet paper. Jennifer Williams (UX Designer) was in command of celery, turnips and other vegetables. Leading the most popular station of all (apples and pears) was Jessie Trapp (Marketing Coordinator). Ali Lundberg (Data Analyst) helped the packaging team bag oatmeal. I was standing at the very end of the line with the acorn squash and the kale, which tended to have more of a “take as much as you need” mentality.
All in all, an eventful morning as we tried to help our neighbors!”
If you’d like to support Northwest Harvest financially, they are conducting a Home Team Harvest in the month of December. Stop by your local Safeway or Albertsons and purchase one of their hunger bags of groceries!
“Think global, act local” is an important mantra at MoxiWorks. Whether it’s payroll deductions that go to the MoxiFund or our community service days, we can’t wait to see how we can make a difference in 2019!
20 Questions: The Wonder Woman Leading our Sales
20 Questions with Georgia Perez, VP of Business Development and Product Evangelism at MoxiWorks
Our MoxiWorks Business Development Team is led by an insanely brilliant and vivacious women, Georgia Perez. With 10 years and counting as a Licensed Real Estate Broker and Manager, and more than 25 years in the land of tech, she couldn’t be a more perfect fit for her role. Her understanding of what it takes to be successful in the real estate world, combined with profound technical acumen, give her unique insights into the needs and challenges of our brokerage clients. She is a vital piece in the creation of our products and we can without a doubt say MoxiWorks wouldn’t be where it is today without her!
Want to find out more about Georgia? You’re in luck because we got her to sit down for a 20 questions session!
1. How long have you been at MoxiWorks?
Six plus years.
2. How many employees do you manage?
I have a team of 4 at the moment but am excited to announce we’ll be growing by several (so let me know if you know someone wonderful who should join us!).
3. What has been your favorite product and why?
That’s like asking a parent to pick their favorite child! MoxiPresent launched the company and is without question the “best in class” CMA and presentation platform in the industry (we were voted so by an independent review and not just our clients!). There is so much you can do with it; I still get excited about it every day. MoxiEngage is my favorite for accelerating our brokerage and agent’s business by huge leaps, by giving them the road map to success, and coaching them, and their company on how to get them to their goals. I wish I had had something like it when I was building my Real Estate career.
Recently, we’ve added MoxiTalent, and having been a manager – I never had such an outstanding system to help me in recruiting and retention, offering a plan developed by 20+ of the leading recruiters in the nation, combined with the data to track performance, and suggest best matches for your recruiting. Before MoxiTalent, I had to go get a giant data dump from the MLS, or other expensive data products, and then try to read the tea leaves on who to talk to; now, the system tells me who is a high match to my needs, and takes me step-by-step through a sophisticated recruiting plan, while also helping me “re-recruit” my existing agents every day. All of these products are mobile ready, so I can do my job from whatever device I am using in the moment.
SEE – it’s impossible to choose!
4. What makes you feel accomplished?
I’ll let you know when I get there, lol. Seriously, I am super hard on myself, and very driven; I don’t ever feel I have arrived – I just keep moving the goal out. That said, I feel amazing when I see our clients, and their agents truly succeed with us! Living up to our promises every day is a worthy accomplishment!
5. Window seat or aisle seat?
Window. Mostly because I don’t want people hitting me with their bags as they go down the aisle. I typically fly around 100,000 miles a year – so these things matter!
6. What’s your favorite thing about MoxiWorks?
It sounds so trite, but honestly, everything! I love our mission, our culture, and I work with some of the best and brightest people in the industry! I feel lucky everyday (even the hard days)!
7. How long have you held your real estate license?
10 years and counting!
8. What energizes you and brings you excitement?
Professionally: I love being in the field with our clients, or speaking at industry events, helping to shed light on what’s going on with technology, and firing up their businesses.
Personally: I am a Disney nut, so I get excited when I can step into a Disney park and have a little time in the “happiest place on earth!”
9. If you could be famous for anything, what would it be?
To be remembered for being a kind person, that helped others in their lifetime. I have a favorite song by Nicole Nordeman that says, “I want to leave a legacy. How will they remember me? Did I choose to love? Did I point to you enough?” I think that is more important than “fame.”
10. What keeps you at MoxiWorks?
It comes back to the people. It’s called “work” for a reason; when you can do it with people you enjoy and respect, and you are growing every day, it is so worth it. I also really believe in what we are doing for brokerages and their agents. Our systems really do work – so it can literally change the lives of our clients, by helping them make a great living, and achieve their goals! What’s not to love about that?!
11. Who is your favorite Disney character?
It’s like that favorite child question again! I love Mickey, always – but Tinkerbell is also a fav (though my hubbie would say that it is because her color is green, and it’s my favorite color)!
12. What is your most used emoji?
Smiley face for the rest of the world, but for my husband the heart eyes or the kissy one!
13. What was your first job?
Other than the typical babysitting I did as an early teen, my first formal job was at Prospero Mushroom Market in Santa Cruz, California. It was a vegetable market with a delicatessen and ice cream parlor. My job was the ice cream scooper and deli clerk. The owners were friends of our family, and it was a great first experience! My brothers best friend worked in the veggie market side and kept an eye on me (this was all before I was old enough to drive).
14. What interested you about MoxiWorks in the first place?
I felt this was meant for me. I had been in tech for more than 20 years, and for personal reasons changed my career to become a Realtor at Windermere Real Estate. Several years later, after building a successful RE biz, I learned they were launching an independent tech company, building real estate technology. It just seemed like my two careers came uniquely together! I have deep respect and understanding of the Real Estate Industry, and deep roots in the tech industry.
15. What do you do when you’re not working?
Sometimes it seems I am never not working; except for when I’m sleeping, (and even then, I think I dream of Moxi)! That said, my husband and I are actively involved in our church and social causes. On occasion, you can also find me at a Disney Park, and at least twice a year I run in Disney races, and also, when travel allows, dozens of other races throughout the year.
16. Did you choose this career path, or did it choose you?
It definitely chose me. I could never have foreseen that my strange hop from tech to real estate would have opened the door for a Real Estate Tech career.
17. What advice would you give to other real estate agents?
Seek help and push yourself outside of your comfort zone. The real estate business is wonderful but can be hard. Being self-employed is not for everyone, and if you have never run your own business, can get you out over your skis pretty quickly. As humans, we are naturally resistant to change, so even when we go take classes, attend a conference and get all jazzed up about new ideas – as soon as we have to implement, people tend to revert to “old habits” pretty quickly.
I read a blog from Seth Godin today (love him!), it said:
Just because you don’t understand it:
- Doesn’t mean it isn’t true
- Doesn’t mean it isn’t important
- If we spend our days ignoring the things we don’t understand (because they must not be true and they must not be important) all we’re left with is explored territory with little chance of improvement
Allow yourself to feel uncomfortable, without allowing yourself to quit! It’s like going to the gym, and starting to work out for the first time. It may feel awkward (heck it might even make you sore for a bit!), but when you start to see results, it’s easier to build upon that success, and keep growing!
Keep in mind, the only one you hurt when you don’t seek to learn and implement great systems, is yourself. It’s your business, your income, and your life! Seek experts who can guide you on the right path.
18. How would you describe your management style?
Intense, but loving, lol. My role in the company is driving revenue. It’s not something one can afford to fail at; our clients, co-workers and investors are counting on me and my team. I take that commitment very seriously, and I do drive to results. That said, my philosophy is to be the “wind in the sails” of my team. All boats rise together, and we are a team (along with the rest of the Moxi team). I truly want better for my team than I want for myself. We work long hours together, so it’s great when we can genuinely enjoy, respect, and support one another.
19. What do you feel is the biggest barrier to agent tech adoption?
A few things:
- Being overwhelmed! Self-employment is no joke, and agents are very busy taking care of their clients, while simultaneously needing to do everything required to build a consistent business, and take care of all of the things people who have a steady paycheck, vacation pay and benefits take for granted. Pausing long enough to learn anything new, can feel impossible to squeeze in.
- Fear – fear of change, fear of the unknown, even fear of tech. Many agents look a lot like me (a middle-aged woman!), they tell themselves they won’t be able to figure it out. I know, at least with Moxi technology, you can’t break it! So, come on in, the water is fine. You don’t have to jump into the deep end, you can wade in, and gradually find your swim lane.
- Disappointed expectations. Many think that tech, in and of itself, is the proverbial “eat all you want and stay slim pill.” The tech is going to do it all for you, and business will just magically pour in and happen. While technology can definitely automate a lot of functions, contribute to lead generation, and keep you focused on the right things, Real Estate is a relationship business, and there will still be work you must do to build genuine relationships. Our sphere is the greatest asset we have, and some focus and effort here will pay off in big ways – but it requires tech and work.
20. What is one of your 2019 goals for MoxiWorks?
Continued growth and continuing to be thought leaders in the industry – by helping to make the businesses and lives of our brokerages and agents better. I want to accomplish something so big, that we can celebrate with something crazy, like a company trip to Disney!
Want to chat with Georgia about your brokerage 2019 goals? No prob. She’s happy to chat with you!
20 Questions: Our Director of Making Magic Happen
Get to know Regina Kelley, Director of Program Management at MoxiWorks!
Regina Kelley is like our coach and our cheerleader. She keeps us on time, helps decide which plan of action to take, and helps us execute all while rooting us on along the way. She’s our Director of Program Management, and she gives a whole new meaning to “efficiency.” But she’s also much more than her job at MoxiWorks and we wanted to get to know her a little better. Basically, she’s the perfect victim for our next 20 Questions!
Drum roll please…
1. How long have you been at MoxiWorks?
Five and a half years.
2. What do you do at MoxiWorks?
I help plan and manage the company’s large strategic initiatives and projects.
3. What’s your favorite MoxiWorks product and why?
I like them all! Our Moxi Engage product specifically though because when we came up with the concept of an “all-in-one” CRM (that could also help agents manage their transactions and be more productive and make more money) it was something no one else had done or thought of up to that point and it was really exciting to be a part of from the beginning.
4. What’s your philosophy in life?
It’s corny but it’s “have fun and be yourself.” No matter what situation you’re in, whether it’s at work, home, relationships, or with family, and you can be yourself in it, then the rest just falls into place.
5. What’s your favorite movie?
Anything Disney! Right now, it’s Tangled. My husband’s right now is Moana.
6. What’s your favorite thing about MoxiWorks?
Uhm, everything! The people obviously. From day one five and half years ago when people asked me the same question, it’s always been the people. We just have really fantastic people at not only at what they do, but they also care and support each other and at the end of the day that’s the most important thing. It makes it so much better.
7. What’s the best part of your job?
It’s working with the teams of people who are working on the products and initiatives we’re working on as a company and helping them find new ways to do things. I just love it when the light bulb turns on and they discover that new way. I see their excitement in what they do and helping them do that is the best part of my job.
8. Disney World or Disney Land?
Plot twist: Tokyo Disneyland!
9. Do you consider yourself an introvert or an extrovert?
A balance. I’m a libra, so I’m very balanced. I can be very introverted and very shy, but I also have this extrovert side in social situations or at work.
10. Where did you grow up?
I was born in New Hampshire and lived in Northern Maine for 10 years and then moved to Idaho.
11. What’s the next place on your travel bucket list?
Africa!
12. What’s your favorite part of the day?
Going home at the end of the day and hanging out with my husband and our pets.
13. What was your first job?
I worked at Domino’s making pizzas and answering phones. I was 18 and they let me manage a store when I was home during the summers.
14. What keeps you at MoxiWorks?
So many things! The people. And just how exciting the industry is right now and our part that we’re playing in that.
15. What do you do when you’re not working?
Disneyland! Traveling to exotic destinations occasionally and hanging out with my husband.
16. Did you choose this career path, or did it choose you?
I definitely chose it. I clearly can remember being in Junior High and we had a family computer that we always used, and my sister and I would stay up all night long building NSYNC and Justin Timberlake pages. When people asked what I wanted to do when I grew up I’d say I wanted to be a CEO of a software company. I was always drawn to the software industry from a really young age.
17. You win the lottery. What’s the first thing you do?
Go to Disneyland Paris!
18. If you could meet anyone dead or alive (or animated) who would it be?
My mom’s mom! My parents named me Regina Theresa after her. She passed away when my mom was only 18, three years before I was born, I wish I could have known her. I would love to be able to do that!
19. What is the most interesting part about working in the real estate industry?
All of it. I guess that it’s so personal. Agents are helping their clients buy and sell homes. That’s where you raise a family and live and it’s very personal to clients and I think that’s what is the most interesting is that it’s the most special. It’s a unique industry and there’s not that many things that personal to people.
20. What is your biggest challenge right now?
My biggest challenge right now is helping MoxiWorks scale, because we’re growing so much, and our customer base is growing and the number of products we have are growing. Helping us find new ways to do things to continue moving at our current or a faster pace is my main priority.
Thanks for letting us sit down with you, Regina! Not only have you shaped MoxiWorks into the machine it is today, but you’re continuously making us better for the future. We can’t wait to see how things evolve next! Also, please take me to Disneyland Paris with you. I’ll be practicing my French on the off chance you feel like putting me in your suitcase.
By Tiana Baur, Content Marketing Manager
20 Questions: Get to Know Your Account Manager
20 Questions with Katie Shibale, Account Manager at MoxiWorks
Katie Shibale is on the front lines of MoxiWorks, always working hard to delight clients, making sure they are well taken care of from all angles: training, materials, integration… the list goes on! Being an Account Manager is a tough job, and we’re thankful Katie and her awesome teammates are here to do it.
We thought it’d be fun to sit down with Katie and get to know her just a little bit better. If you’re reading this and happen to be one of our clients, there’s a good chance you’ve experienced Katie’s brilliant work ethic, communication, and determination to deliver the best to your brokerage.
Without further ado, here’s 20 questions with Katie:
1. How long have you been at MoxiWorks?
1 year this month!
2. Best and worst thing about living in the Seattle area?
The traffic, of course, is the worst.
The views are by far the best. Between the mountains, the water, and the trees, it is breathtaking here.
3. What has been your favorite achievement so far at MoxiWorks?
There are two in particular.
The first, is creating and implementing a training process for incoming Account Managers. I took experiences from my career and was able to create a manual that made the transition to being an Account Manager at MoxiWorks more seamless. In doing so, I was able to watch a fellow Account Manager go through that and become a kickass AM quickly.
The second, is completing my first official onboarding with a well-known brokerage in the industry. I created a successful launch and relationship with them, and that’s a great feeling.
4. What’s your philosophy in life?
Do what you love, love what you do.
5. What would you eat for your last meal?
Really good authentic Mexican food (and some whiskey).
6. What’s your favorite thing about MoxiWorks?
The culture, honestly. Looking at how we all work together… and I love the fact that we are a name versus a number (like you tend to be in big companies). Each department actually works together versus everyone just working on their own path.
7. What’s the best part about working with your clients?
There are so many, so I’ll try to keep it short. First, building strong, trusting relationships that allow us to truly partner with one another. I love when they have that “ah-ha” moment once they truly find the value in what we do here. That’s the moment they begin truly promoting the products, helping us (MoxiWorks) further innovate, and agents become more productive. Finally, when I get to meet the agents in person. Watching them get excited about the different tools and how easy they are to use is rewarding.
8. NFL or MLS?
That’s a mean question, but NFL had my heart first!
9. Do you consider yourself an introvert or an extrovert?
Introvert – or maybe the one in-between (ambivert). I think I come off as an introvert, but when you get to know me you can’t shut me up.
10. What keeps you at MoxiWorks?
My team for sure. I love the collaboration between us. I know this may sound corny, but we’re like a family. We’re constantly joking around, supporting one another, and really challenging each other to become better (all around people) each day.
11. Cats or dogs?
Definitely, dogs!
12. What’s your favorite part of the day?
The evening because I get to spend time with my son.
13. What was your first job?
I was a Nike sales associate.
14. What interested you about MoxiWorks in the first place?
I was originally in the mobile apps industry, so getting into the software industry sounded interesting. After I talked to Kylah (Director of Integrations and Partnerships at Moxi), I realized the culture was exactly what I was looking for. Ultimately, I knew this was going to really stretch me, challenge me, and allow me to grow in all areas.
15. What do you do when you’re not working?
I’m on the sidelines at my son’s football, soccer, or basketball games cheering him on.
16. Did you choose this career path, or did it choose you?
It definitely chose me. I started in the education field, that’s what my degree is in. I had a friend who worked at a mobile app company and had an opportunity to work for them too, but as a remote employee. It worked great since I could work from home as a mom. From there, I got into software. I never expected to be here, but grateful that others saw my potential and took a chance on me.
17. What does your ideal Saturday look like?
Start out with a cup of coffee for sure, and then either watch my son play sports (or play sports myself). And if my son is at his dad’s, then hanging out with girlfriends with a nice bottle of wine and a good movie.
18. How would you describe your communication style?
I’m kind of an over communicator and can be assertive, especially if I’m confident in what I am saying. I prefer going up to someone and verbally talking things through, as it is really important in understanding exactly what’s happening to help avoid any confusion.
19. What stands out to you about real estate technology since you’ve joined the industry?
Since I’m newer to the real estate industry, I’d say understanding how technology has increased at such a rapid pace. It’s also fascinating how a lot of real estate agents embrace it, but there are way more who wish it never came to real estate. Being able to create something really simple and professional is essential to technology adoption.
20. What is your biggest challenge right now?
I would say that each brokerage/each client that I work with has different needs, especially based on the market they are in. Trying to create a product or tool that really satisfies each of their needs is challenging and then trying to find a workaround that they’re pleased with has its own challenges as well.
Thanks, Katie for letting us ask you these questions! But more importantly, thank you for contributing to Moxi and our amazing culture! #ItTakesMoxi
Carrot Cake and Inclusivity at Work
By Ringo Nishioka, SPHR – SCP, VP of Operations at MoxiWorks
Today, one of our senior developers brought in a large carrot cake for the entire company. The reason? To mark the 25th anniversary of his immigration to the United States. As the HR guy here at MoxiWorks, I love this for a couple of reasons:
- He is a success story. A hard-working developer and family man, he is making a living in one of the hottest tech markets here in Seattle.
- He brought in cake to share with his colleagues, co-workers, and friends. I find this to be next-level employee engagement. If he didn’t like the company, employees, or the work, he wouldn’t have brought in such a treat for over 70 people.
I am often approached to speak about diversity and inclusivity at work. Just last month I addressed a Fortune 100 company on the subject. As an executive, I understand why a company benefits from hiring diversely. As a minority, I have experienced what it is like to be the only minority in the room in my personal and professional life. I don’t know everything about diversity, but I do feel like I have relevant perspective when it comes to hiring people and creating an inclusive workplace.
Like most technology companies, we appear under-represented when it comes to diversity. However, when compared with other tech giants founded in Seattle, we are more diverse in most categories. Even so, I do receive flak about it here at MoxiWorks and visually, I get it.
We recently hired a VP and I heard that employees were disappointed when they learned it wasn’t a woman. Truth be told, we interviewed both men and women, but in the end hired the best person for the role, who happened to be a white male. The newly-hired VP even heard from employees that if we were serious about diversity, we would have hired a woman of diversity. Ugh.
Here at MoxiWorks, we don’t chase diversity and inclusion. We appreciate it, we embrace it, but we don’t chase it. What I mean is we don’t hire diversely to fill quotas or meet numbers. As a minority myself, I don’t want to be hired just because I filled a quota. I don’t want anyone thinking, “Ring got this job because the company and the executive team needed a minority.” I want to know I landed this job because I was the most qualified. More importantly, I want everyone to recognize they hired the best person for the position.
I was proud of our CEO, York Baur, when he stood in front of the company and said the same thing. “We are going to hire the best person for the role. We are not going to hire diversity for the sake of diversity. Help us hire the right person for the role by referring us the best candidates.” (For reference: We rely on employee referrals and offer a small gesture of thanks when we hire from their networks.)
Here are the reasons I loved the carrot cake gesture that our Senior Developer, Konstantin Kifa, shared with the company:
I didn’t know that Konstantin was an immigrant.
I am a big believer that what a person says or does can convey as much as what he does not say or do.
Konstantin doesn’t make a big deal of being a diverse employee and has never approached me about diversity or inclusion issues in the workplace. He does his job very well and his nationality, gender, and religion don’t impact his work. His life experiences affect his performance, of course, but he doesn’t bring issues to the workplace; instead, he is known for his intellectual horsepower and work ethic. (Note: His email to the company didn’t mention what country he immigrated from!)
I believe that MoxiWorks is organically creating a diverse and inclusive place to work. It isn’t contrived, and HR isn’t practicing “diversity by the numbers.” When employees like their workplace, they bring their families to visit and encourage friends to apply. When they don’t, their families won’t set foot in the building and they don’t recommend the company as a good place to work.
I like to think that because diversity isn’t an issue at MoxiWorks, our employees are comfortable bringing their accomplishments into the workplace.
Thank you, Konstantin, for getting your message across without even mentioning it. And thank you to everyone at Moxi for creating an inclusive place to work.
The Man Behind Our Technology
20 Questions with Mark Carlson, VP of Software Engineering at MoxiWorks
Picture Mark Carlson as the person we all strive to be: hardworking, kind, (tall), and somehow making it to the office before anyone else does, every single day. If you see him he’ll surely have coffee in hand, running off to build bada$$ technology for brokerages and agents across the nation.
Since he is the man behind the machine that is MoxiWorks and because he doesn’t get nearly enough of the credit he deserves (even though he’d rather not have it – sorry Mark!), we thought we’d shed some light on him and what makes him tick – besides coffee that is.
Here it goes:
1. How long have you been at MoxiWorks?
Almost 8 years.
2. How many employees do you manage?
43
3. What has been your favorite product to build and why?
Moxi Talent because we spent a lot of time talking to potential users and learning about the problems they face and came up with a really new and interesting way to help them do their jobs more effectively.
4. What’s your philosophy in life?
Shortcuts rarely are.
5. How do you take your coffee?
Black
6. What’s your favorite thing about MoxiWorks?
The culture.
7. What does the future hold for MoxiWorks’ tech?
Continued innovation in both our product and how we get work done.
8. You were just on vacation. Where did you go?
Scotland
9. Do you consider yourself an introvert or an extrovert?
Introvert
10. What keeps you at MoxiWorks?
The people, the culture, and the work.
11. Apple or android?
Apple, barely.
12. What’s your favorite part of the day?
Early morning.
13. What was your first job?
Worked at a Baskin Robbins ice cream store.
Edit: His favorite flavor was Jamoca Almond Fudge
14. What interested you about MoxiWorks in the first place?
I really wanted to work for a small, innovative, growing company.
15. What do you do when you’re not working?
I play golf as often as possible and hang out with my wife and kids.
16. Did you choose this career path, or did it choose you?
I chose it.
17. What is your biggest pet peeve with modern technology?
Passwords.
18. How would you describe your management style?
Helping people focus on the most important things first.
19. What do you think has been really innovative in real estate in the past 5 years?
Cross-product integration.
*Insert pitch for Moxi Cloud here.*
20. What is your biggest challenge right now?
Transforming MoxiWorks from a small to medium sized company while maintaining nimbleness and drive toward innovation.
Yes, Mark is a man of few words. Yes, he’s a genius. And yes, we approve of his favorite ice cream flavor. Agility and productivity are two must-haves in our world and we mean it when we say – Mark brings it. We can’t wait to see how he helps MoxiWorks continue to grow, evolve, and deliver the ultimate experience to our clients.
A Moxian Life: A Tale of Adversity and the Will to Succeed
By Mavis Chi, Staff Accountant
I was an intern at MoxiWorks 10 months ago and recently became a full-time employee. I landed an internship here through a presentation that York Baur, the CEO, gave at my finance class at University of Washington Bothell. At the beginning of his presentation, I wasn’t interested in the real estate industry and hardly remember what was on the PowerPoint. My primary focus was York’s personality as a CEO; he was funny, friendly, and approachable. I thought it would be fun to work for a company that provides a relaxing and flexible environment, yet always encouraging its employees to take a step further.
So, I approached York at the end of his presentation and earned an internship with Moxi. Also, who doesn’t want to work for a company that has a motto “Get shit done,” right? But this isn’t one of the stories where I tell you how awesome it is to work at Moxi even though it is pretty awesome. This is my story of how I was a non-English speaking immigrant who became a first-generation college graduate and landed an entry level position as a Staff Accountant.
Do you remember the last time you achieved a long-term goal? Do you remember that incredible force that over-pumped your endorphins that made you jump up and down and shout out, “I did it?” Well, you may only see that reaction in a 21-year-old or younger, but you get my point. I had a similar feeling a month ago at my first college graduation. For some people, a bachelor’s degree may not be a phenomenal achievement but rather a necessity, an expectation because everything is planned for. For others, like me, achieving a bachelor’s degree is almost as hard as finding a needle in a haystack. It’s not because of the lack of intelligence but the lack of encouragement.
I was raised in a traditional Vietnamese culture, where boys are more valuable than girls. My mother was forced to quit school when she was 13 years old to get into the workforce – yes, child labor was not regulated in Vietnam – to help finance for my uncles/her brothers’ tuitions. All my older female’s cousins quit school after high school because they didn’t think they could make it through college. When I first came to the United States seven years ago, my primary drive was to get a college degree. A close relative told me that, “You hardly speak any English, it will be a waste of time and money trying to catch up with other people your age. I think you’d be better off marrying someone here, so you are taken care of.” As wrong as it sounded, he was right about my English ability. I pushed my goal aside and focused on improving my English. During that period, my “English instructors” were the customers that came into my cousin’s nail salon, movies with subtitles, newspapers; I even sacrificed my chances to make friends who are from my country so that I could practice English with the native speakers.
Six months later, I moved to Kentucky to stay with my brother hoping that he could help me get into a local community college. I was staying with my sister-in-law and her family at that time, they didn’t like the idea of me going to college because they wanted me to work for them in return for my free stay, and I couldn’t afford the tuition on my own. My brother doesn’t have a say in his immediate family, so I had to hold off my college again. After a few months of working 10 hours a day scrubbing people’s feet and other chores at my sister-in-law’s nails salon, I discovered the tuition reimbursement program at UPS from a regular customer at the salon. I applied and was hired as a warehouse loader working from 10pm to 3am (Mon – Fri) – it was the only shift that qualifies for tuition reimbursement program. With the benefits that I received from UPS, I finally applied to a few English as a Second Language (ESL) classes at a local community college.
Growing up in a city (Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam) makes it difficult for me to adapt to the country living, so I moved to Seattle once I completed my ESL classes. Seattle opened a new path for my education journey. I discovered a local college (Bellevue College) where it accepted my high school transcript from Vietnam and converted the classes into usable college credits. With the result from the assessment test, I only needed two more English classes to start taking courses for an Associate degree in Business Administration. Pell grant Financial Aids and scholarship helped me get through the AA’s program, but the living standard in Seattle prolonged the process. With the high cost of living, I couldn’t be a full-time student and worker, so I had to take one or two classes at a time in the first two years of college. After four years of on and off with courses, I finally finished my AA with a 3.79 GPA and applied to a business school at UW Bothell and got accepted. One and a half years later, I become the first generation in my family to graduate from college.
The feeling of an accomplishment that I described at the beginning isn’t just over-pumped endorphins. It is my pride for overcoming the discouragement and standing up for what I believe in. My story is only one of many stories where people encounter difficult obstacles that prevent them from achieving their dream, yet they conquer their hardships and punch the impossible in the face. One of my classmates that graduated with me was a lady who is 60+ years old, her story is that she had to push her education aside for her husband and children. Whenever in doubt, always remember: “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” – Eleanor Roosevelt.
You are probably thinking why is this relevant to the blog? And why is this girl talking about herself? Because I’m a Moxian and we have a saying that goes, “What got you here won’t get you there.” At Moxi, everyone is always evolving and pushing themselves to go above and beyond to create better products to benefit our customers. This is who we are! We “get shit done!”
Interested in a career at Moxi? We’re hiring.
Recruiting Trauma: Ghosting at Work
By Ringo Nishioka, VP of Human Resources & Operations
You met a great agent you would like to recruit or a potential home seller that you really like. For both of you, business and personal values align. You have a few great phone calls and face-to-face meetings. Suddenly, your colleague disappears and falls off the map. They don’t return your calls and may even miss a scheduled meeting with no heads up. Silence. Just a big echo chamber which leaves you wondering what you did wrong. We have all been there.
What happened? You were ghosted.
It’s happening in dating relationships, companies looking to hire new employees, and yes, in real estate, with both potential recruits and potential home sellers. Unanswered texts and phone calls that are not returned. It hurts. You have invested time, money and emotional energy into the relationship only to find it come to a very hard and dead end.
What is ghosting?
Ghosting refers to when someone in a relationship disappears without any warning sign. The term is a common one in our online world with the advent of dating apps, but we are hearing about it more and more in the professional world as well. We understand it might happen in potentially shorter term personal relationships, but in long term professional relationships?
“Dude, that candidate ghosted you? I can’t believe that. I thought for sure she would accept your offer.”
What are the signs you might be ghosted?
This isn’t our first rodeo here at MoxiWorks. We still get ghosted by candidates we are looking to recruit, but we know some of the signs to look out for. We are not surprised we are dropped like a hot potato when:
- There is a lack of engagement between MoxiWorks (the hiring company) and the candidate.
- When emails exchanges contain slow responses. When we email, we look for timely responses and hope to see a response by the end of the day.
- We look for courteous follow ups and thank you. If we took the time to interview someone or show them around our office, we take a follow up thank you as a sign our candidate is engaged.
Why does it happen?
We have a number of theories, but these are just theories and ours alone.
Bad Communication/Unreal Expectations
We believe that ghosting happens when the communication and expectations between two parties doesn’t match up. Most of us would take the time and effort to talk these differences through, but in an age of immediate gratification, for some it is easier to just walk away.
Your Compass is our Amazon.
We are competing for tech talent in a town where there is a shortage of talent. Every brokerage out there is living in fear of Compass. They have deep pockets, endless perks, and are the shiny object right now in the real estate industry. What’s our version? Amazon. We know what it’s like competing against a giant with endless amounts of cash. When candidates feel like they have opportunity, they can act very differently. There are more tech jobs than tech candidates in Seattle. Consequently, the candidate doesn’t feel the urgency to respond as quickly or respond at all.
How to avoid being ghosted:
- We explain what our interview process will look like in the very first interaction with a potential candidate. We explain how many interviews there might be, who the candidate will meet with and why we take it so seriously. I literally say the following: “Our process may be a little longer than others, but we want to learn what we can about you as the candidate and we want you the candidate to learn as much as you can about MoxiWorks. Ultimately, we are looking for a great fit for both parties because we want you to be as happy as we are with you.”
- Keep the dialogue moving. Nothing creates engagement better than engagement. If your candidate or potential seller has to wait days for a response, they will assume you are not interested in them.
- End your emails with a proposal to continue the dialogue. Give your seller something to respond to.
- “I’d like to meet next week and talk about talk about X. Coffee is on me.”
We mentioned that ghosting happens more in economies where the candidates feel they have choices. The way to overcome this is to make the candidate feel like YOUR SERVICE IS A UNICORN. There may be a lot of agents in town, but YOUR BROKERAGE AND SERVICE IS DIFFERENT. THERE IS ONLY ONE OF YOU IN THIS TOWN!
Benefits of being ghosted:
Believe it or not, there are benefits of being ghosted. You know the candidate’s true colors earlier vs. later and you didn’t find this out after investing in them for six months of training or showing half a dozen homes. Time is money, and they just saved you a lot of it.
Moxi Products: Why We Thrive on Agent Feedback
By Connor Baldwin, Technical Product Manager
As seen in Mile 62 eMagazine.
Our goal as an organization is to make agents’ lives easier, and brokerages more profitable with our technology solutions. How could we possibly do that? There is such a wide variety of agents and brokerages in this industry, we could easily spend our entire year’s budget on user research and we still might not even get it right. So, you know what we do? We listen.
How do we listen?
We do it actively. We take cues from the people who give us feedback and dig deeper into that topic they are discussing with us. Examples of this are in abundance at MoxiWorks. Our Customer Support team, a vital part of our company, do this with our end-user’s every single day. They receive feedback through a variety of mediums and immerse themselves into what our biggest user group is saying.
Then we have our Account Management team – they have calls with all of our clients every single week and are always ready when something urgent comes up. They talk to some of the most important people at our client brokerages; the people who know and care about their agents as if they were family. We also have our Sales team talking to prospective clients to understand their potential needs, along with our Executives talking to partners and industry experts, and it all ends up back with us.
Our team (Product), then receives this expertly mined information and we analyze it. Once it has been analyzed, then we decide to spend some money and do user research on the things that this feedback has helped us deem as meaningful. This usually involves interviewing users and running usability tests. These are both time consuming, but they help validate our assumptions, give us new insight into the lives of our users, contribute to building out of extensive user personas, and help us address our user’s true pain points. These two exercises are essential to getting it right the first time, which saves everyone time and money.
Why do we listen?
This is an even longer list, so I will just talk about my three favorites.
One – we listen because we want to build brand loyalty. We want to strengthen our relationships with our client’s operators all the way down to their agents. It is important to us that they feel like they have a say in the evolution of our products. This shows them we truly value their opinions and it helps us grow with our clients. Hey, and maybe they will recommend us to a friend.
Two – we listen because we flat out want to build better products. These are our users, they know the products really well and they are associated with real world use cases. The information we get from them allows us to make valuable changes to our existing products and build badass new ones. This will help retain those who are near and dear to us, as well as add more folks to the Moxi family.
Three – we listen because we want to learn market trends. I know what you’re thinking, the third one is a little more specific than the first two. Cut me some slack though, I’m on the product team. The feedback we get from our various sources all has a ring to it. It signifies change in the industry. A basic example of this could be, “We want you to add/change this feature because there was a shift in the industry. Its original use is no longer helping our agents increase their productivity and our brokerages bottom line.” Ok, that was a poor example, but you get what I’m saying. All this feedback we receive paints a huge picture of the real estate industry and its volatility, and that is awesome, because that picture helps us not only plan for the future but drives us to innovate.
There is a phrase that is thrown around quite a bit in our company. It goes, “What got us here, won’t get us there.” This is especially relevant to gathering feedback from our users. Where simply letting feedback roll in from agents and higher-ups may have done the job two years ago, that is not the case now. In order for us to continuously improve our products we must find new ways to gather feedback. We must educate ourselves on interviewing users and finding the root of their problem. It is critical to set our users up to give constructive, contextual feedback. We would only be doing a disservice to our users and ourselves if we just stuck with the “Have Feedback?” prompt in product and called it a day.
How MoxiWorks Empowers Its Employees
By Tom Shively
What attracted me to MoxiWorks was the level of collaboration that’s expected from every department. Upon first starting, I was asked how I felt about working with many, if not all, of the other teams here and if working as a part of a dynamic fast-paced team was something I could excel at doing. Fast forward two years and I can honestly say this experience has lived up to the promise.
One of the greatest parts about working at Moxi is if you have a fun, creative idea, it is encouraged you run with it. I have been at a number of tech companies and nowhere else has had an atmosphere of not only collaboration, but encouragement to think outside the box, outside the building, and outside your comfort zone.
It had been about five months after I started as Moxi’s trainer that I was sent across the country to host a series of talks teaching agents about our products. The event went spectacularly well, in no small part because of the teamwork our office has. On this trip I was joined by Senior Account Manager, Daniel Bailey, and our Manager of Product, Jillian Igarashi and the strengths of these two became obvious very quickly. Daniel can talk to anyone, about anything, at any time, and Jillian has an encyclopedic knowledge of our products and what’s coming! It was because of these two that this conference went so well.
Before I left I realized many people don’t know what happens when we travel into the field to present. So, I decided to bring my camera and film what happened, so I could create a recap video for the rest of the office to see what we accomplished. While on the trip I filmed all the different aspects of a Real Estate conference from our booth to the classes we taught and the travel from coast to coast. When I got home, I was able to piece together a story I thought would be interesting for the rest of the company to see.
The response I got was nothing like I could have imagined. I first sent the video to the executive team who asked if they could show it at our “All Hands” meeting later that day so the whole company could see it. The rest of the company seemed excited to see what happens when we go into the field and the response the industry has to our products. It was because of this positive response, I have continued to create videos for the company.
You see, our company has a mantra. “Think outside the building,” and nowhere is this more apparent than our community service day each year. Moxi shuts down for an entire day, takes all 70 techies and rolls up our collective sleeves to help Ryther. Before we made our way over, I was asked if I could bring my camera to capture some of the day. I agreed without hesitation and began shooting the moment we got there. Being able to speak with the staff and tour the facility to see what impact Moxi can make in helping the lives of the people in our community can only be described as extraordinary.
Making the video for this day was one of the most rewarding projects I have had the pleasure of creating. None of this would be possible without the support of Moxi as a whole, and the ability to accept a mentality that doesn’t just focus on what comes across your desk but is limited only by your creativity. Moxi empowers its employees to do better, follow your goals, and think outside the building, where ever that may be.
Watch Tom’s Community Service Day video below!
