houzz
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Sam Shear and the value of a canceled order
The Yes Hearing co-founder built a company in New York after starting his career in London technology. His most revealing business habit is picking up the phone when a customer walks away.
Adi Tatarko Wanted a Better House. She Built Houzz.
A frustrating Palo Alto renovation sent Adi Tatarko back into technology. The company she built with her husband began among school families and grew by listening to the people trying to make a home.
Alon Cohen Built Houzz by Treating Friction as a Blueprint
A frustrating ranch-house remodel gave the engineer a problem worth coding. Fifteen years later, he is leading Houzz into its software-and-AI chapter with the same operating idea: make the complicated feel simple.
Oren Zeev
Oren Zeev is an Israeli-American billionaire venture capitalist and the most successful solo general partner in VC history. Operating entirely alone from Cafe Venetia in Palo Alto - no partners, no office, no employees - he manages $2.5B+ in assets under management across 9 funds. His concentrated, conviction-driven approach has delivered ~100% IRR since 2008, with landmark investments in Navan (TripActions), Tipalti, Houzz, Chegg, and Next Insurance. His $50,000 'relationship check' in Navan's founders before they had even incorporated the company eventually became a $1B+ payday when Navan IPO'd in October 2025.