Ep 36 - World’s Best Boss: Anthemos Georgiades Ceo Of Zumper

Anthemos Georgiades is the Co-Founder and CEO of Zumper. At Zumper, based in San Francisco, Anth leads the company in its mission to make renting an apartment as easy as booking a hotel. Since 2012, Anth has grown Zumper to 200 employees, 80 million annual users, and raised $140 million in venture capital for the company.

Prior to his work at Zumper, Anth worked at the Boston Consulting Group in London and NYC and was an Economic Advisor on the 2010 British election. Anth has a First Class BA from Oxford University, an MPhil from the University of Cambridge, and an MBA with Distinction from Harvard Business School.

World’s Best Boss with Ruckus is a series of conversations with business leaders, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders that explore how the best bosses attract fantastic people, build up their teams, and keep their employees happy.

Here’s What We Discussed: 

• [01:53] Anthemos talks about why he started Zumper due to his personal frustration with renting, and fundraising for Zumper through Venture Capital 
• [10:39] Anth shares his philosophy for hiring: IQ is table stakes, but resilience and cultural fit are what get people through the door 
• [19:41] How to vet for resilience by asking candidates about their failures  
• [24:10] Anth’s secret to effective delegation as a CEO through clear key metrics and hiring great talent
• [29:40] Why Anth found no difference in Zumper’s 20th vs 200th hire
• [33:26] Anish gives his thoughts on mistakes companies make for growth by hiring an ‘Ultra Senior Executive’  
• [41:00] Anth’s advice when hiring a COO is to find someone who compliments you 
• [42:57] Anth shares his biggest failures as a CEO 
• [45:09] How the mission of Zumper and the positive impact the company has on his team inspires and motivates Anth
• [48:36] How Anth wants to improve Zumper’s culture with even more transparency

About Anthemos 

Anthemos Georgiades is co-founder & CEO of Zumper, the largest startup in the rental industry. He’s raised $39.2 million in venture capital, grown the team to 70+, and completed the acquisition of apartment search platform PadMapper. Previously a consultant for Boston Consulting Group and Economic Advisor and speechwriter in the 2010 British election, Anthemos founded Zumper in 2012 after his own terrible rental experience.

About Our Host

Anish Shah is the CEO & Founder of executive search agency Ruckus. Anish has worked in-house in Growth roles at Snapfish and Getable. He started Ruckus as a Growth consultancy 11 years ago working with 40+ clients, then re-focused his firm on executive recruiting for Growth leaders.

 

Quotes

“I didn't do this to be a CEO, I did this to solve a problem that I had throughout my twenties and now that I'm doing it, there's no way back.” – Anthemos Georgiades

 

“The two things we look for that get a hire through the door are resilience and then how they fit our cultural values.” – Anthemos Georgiades

 

“I want to recruit the best people at Zumper and the best people look very different.” – Anthemos Georgiades

 

“If you've done everything right in your career, that means you're probably not resilient because you've never put yourself in a situation of risk.” – Anish Shah 

 

“Every CEO has to reinvent themself