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Kim Komando Today

Why the founder of Craigslist isn't a billionaire

Kim Komando Today

WestStar Multimedia Entertainment, Inc

News, Tech News, Technology

4.8770 Ratings

🗓️ 20 January 2025

⏱️ 35 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Craig Newmark started the classified site 30 years ago from his San Francisco apartment. He told me why he never took VC money, how he thinks about OfferUp and Facebook Marketplace, and why the site still looks straight out of 1995 all these years later.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Hey, it's Kim Commando today, your daily podcast to keep you up to date with all things digital and beyond.

0:08.2

And I'd love to have you be a part of our podcast.

0:11.0

You can make an appointment to speak with me.

0:13.3

Just head over to commando.com.

0:14.7

And on the top right, there's a button that says email Kim, fill that out.

0:17.7

And that's it.

0:19.5

Let's talk about a site that you know of, and I'm sure you've used it, Craigslist.

0:23.6

It's been around since 1995, and let me tell you, it still looks like 1995, 30 years ago.

0:30.4

Well, joining us here is Craig Newmark, and Craig is, of course, the guy behind Craigslist.

0:35.9

So, Craig, let's talk about you. Overnight success, right?

0:41.4

My life is completely surreal. I never expected any of this to happen. I'm not completely comfortable

0:49.8

with it, but I got to get over that and just get done what needs to be get done.

0:55.0

And so, you know, I was looking at Craigslist before I came down the studio, but again, thank

1:00.6

you for being here. You know, the site still has kind of like that 1995 vibe.

1:08.2

That's deliberate. For years, I've been speaking to people who use the site.

1:13.4

They want it simple and fast, and the company has kept that philosophy.

1:20.3

I should note I've been retired for like six years, and I gave up all management responsibilities

1:26.5

and powers like 25 years ago.

1:29.4

Oh, did you really? Wow.

1:31.8

Yeah. People help me understand that as a manager, I suck. So I step down.

1:39.9

I mean, did you really suck or just a little bit?

1:45.4

Let's say I would not want to work for myself.

...

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