Podcast appearances and mentions of John Berkowitz

Last month, HousingWire covered the breaking news of mortgage lender Lower acquiring real estate portal Movoto from parent company OJO Labs. Last week, Diego got the opportunity to chat with Dan Snyder, the Founder and CEO of Lower, and John Berkowitz, the CEO of Movoto and now the President of Real Estate at Lower, live and in person at HousingWire's The Gathering 2025. Today, we are bringing that conversation exclusively to our Power House audience! Diego, Dan, and John give a behind-the-scenes look into the acquisition and how Lower is building an end-to-end housing platform that fuses powerful lead generation with localized real estate expertise. Dan and John also talk about the strategic integration of Movoto's 50 million annual visitors, the cultural alignment between teams, and how their retail and tech playbook is designed to rival giants like Zillow and Rocket. Here's what you'll learn: Lower acquired Movoto to own the lead funnel and scale nationally.Culture fit is key in merging teams and tech platforms. Real estate agents remain central to the buyer experience. Movoto brings high traffic and lead value to Lower's ecosystem. Lower OS uses AI and mobile tools to streamline transactions. Dual-brand strategy positions Lower as an industry leader. Related to this episode:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Lower acquires real estate portal Movoto | Housingwire Exclusive: Lower acquires software company Neat Labs | HousingWire Dan Snyder - Lower | LinkedIn John Berkowitz - Lower | LinkedIn Lower.com ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HousingWire | YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Enjoy the episode! The Power House podcast brings the biggest names in housing to answer hard-hitting questions about industry trends, operational and growth strategy, and leadership. Join HousingWire president Diego Sanchez every Thursday morning for candid conversations with industry leaders to learn how they're differentiating themselves from the competition. Hosted and produced by the HousingWire Content Studio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this BONUS EPISODE of CASCADE OF HISTORY, Feliks Banel's guest is John Berkowitz, who worked in the neon sign industry in Seattle in the 1980s and 1990s and had a hand in several iconic signs – including the 5 SPOT on Queen Anne Hill, and Ray's Boathouse at Shilshole Bay. CASCADE OF HISTORY is broadcast LIVE most Sunday nights at 8pm Pacific Time via SPACE 101.1 FM in Seattle and gallantly streams everywhere via space101fm.org. The radio station is located at historic Magnuson Park - formerly Sand Point Naval Air Station - on the shores of Lake Washington in Seattle. Subscribe to the CASCADE OF HISTORY podcast via most podcast platforms.

12/12/24: Local high school for LGBTQIA students w/ Dr. Allison Druin & Dr. Ben Bederson. Rabbi David Seidenberg: Israel, wars, Gaza & Zionism. John Berkowitz & John Feffer: the Russia-Ukraine War, Putin & Trump. Ruth Griggs w/ Sophie Michaux: the upcoming Tiny Glass Tavern concert.

12/12/24: Local high school for LGBTQIA students w/ Dr. Allison Druin & Dr. Ben Bederson. Rabbi David Seidenberg: Israel, wars, Gaza & Zionism. John Berkowitz & John Feffer: the Russia-Ukraine War, Putin & Trump. Ruth Griggs w/ Sophie Michaux: the upcoming Tiny Glass Tavern concert.

12/12/24: Local high school for LGBTQIA students w/ Dr. Allison Druin & Dr. Ben Bederson. Rabbi David Seidenberg: Israel, wars, Gaza & Zionism. John Berkowitz & John Feffer: the Russia-Ukraine War, Putin & Trump. Ruth Griggs w/ Sophie Michaux: the upcoming Tiny Glass Tavern concert.

12/12/24: Local high school for LGBTQIA students w/ Dr. Allison Druin & Dr. Ben Bederson. Rabbi David Seidenberg: Israel, wars, Gaza & Zionism. John Berkowitz & John Feffer: the Russia-Ukraine War, Putin & Trump. Ruth Griggs w/ Sophie Michaux: the upcoming Tiny Glass Tavern concert.

John Berkowitz and John Feffer debate the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Who's at fault for this war? What role did the US and Europe play? Why did this war begin? Is World War III possible? John Berkowtiz and John Feffer answer these questions on Panorama.

Unlocking Motion Design Magic: Deep Dive with the Minds behind 'The Color Purple' and 'She-Hulk'   In this edition of Trailer Geeks, we sit down with John Berkowitz and Brad Colwell from Aspect to explore the fascinating world of high-end motion graphics for trailers as well as opening title sequences. We cover their unique journeys into the industry, from Brad's relocation from Georgia to LA, and John's switch from international basketball to the film industry. They delve into the creation of iconic title sequences for projects like 'The Color Purple' and 'She-Hulk', the creative challenges of remote work, and the dynamic relationship between motion design and film marketing. Additionally, the episode highlights the impact of legendary title sequences, the importance of curiosity, writing, and graphic design in their careers, and Corey's reflections on mental health and authentic connections.   www.teamaspect.com/motion-design   Opening Title Sequence for Se7en: www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BJkDyCdw0c   Be sure to check out our wonderful sponsors:  Carrma - www.carrma.com/   Brent Allen Hagel - www.brentallenhagel.com/   The Golden Trailer Awards - goldentrailer.com/   ALIBI Music - alibimusic.com/     Please leave us a rating and review: https://apple.co/3QYy80e    You can find Corey on all the socials @coreysnathan such as www.linkedin.com/in/coreysnathan. 

6/12/24: John Berkowitz & John Feffer: tonight at Forbes – the Ukraine war.  Larry Hott w/ Tom Goldscheider: Gfld Tap & Dye, the U.E. & the Red Scare. GCC science prof Brian Adams & Karen Foster, Exec. Dir., All Out Adventures: their adventures. Megan Zinn & Lisa Papademetriou: the Nhmptn Ed. Fndn Showcase.

6/12/24: John Berkowitz & John Feffer: tonight at Forbes – the Ukraine war.  Larry Hott w/ Tom Goldscheider: Gfld Tap & Dye, the U.E. & the Red Scare. GCC science prof Brian Adams & Karen Foster, Exec. Dir., All Out Adventures: their adventures. Megan Zinn & Lisa Papademetriou: the Nhmptn Ed. Fndn Showcase.

6/12/24: John Berkowitz & John Feffer: tonight at Forbes – the Ukraine war.  Larry Hott w/ Tom Goldscheider: Gfld Tap & Dye, the U.E. & the Red Scare. GCC science prof Brian Adams & Karen Foster, Exec. Dir., All Out Adventures: their adventures. Megan Zinn & Lisa Papademetriou: the Nhmptn Ed. Fndn Showcase.

6/12/24: John Berkowitz & John Feffer: tonight at Forbes – the Ukraine war.  Larry Hott w/ Tom Goldscheider: Gfld Tap & Dye, the U.E. & the Red Scare. GCC science prof Brian Adams & Karen Foster, Exec. Dir., All Out Adventures: their adventures. Megan Zinn & Lisa Papademetriou: the Nhmptn Ed. Fndn Showcase.

In this episode, James and Keith sit down with John Berkowitz, Founder and CEO at OJO & Movoto.com, and they talk about the entrepreneurial mindset in tough times (the industry is definitely seeing its fair share right now). Hear how he navigates the ongoing portal wars and Redfin's financial issues - no matter the challenge, he knows how to stay ahead of the game. They also discuss Victoria's Secret (the sales side), the Hell Zone, dangerous opportunities and what it takes to prepare for a boom in real estate. This episode is loaded with tons of insights, don't miss out!   Check out OJO and John's team by following this link.   Follow Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered Podcast on Instagram - YouTube - Facebook - LinkedIn - TikTok. Visit us online at realestateinsidersunfiltered.com. This podcast is produced by Two Brothers Creative 2023.  

10/16/23: L3 Harris peace demonstrators Clara Wagner & Zehra Parvez on the charges they now face. Easthampton Mayor Nicole LaChapelle on housing. Black trauma surgeon Dr. Brian H. Williams on why “The Bodies Keep Coming.” Cancer Connection's Chelsea Kline on the Harvest Dinner. John Berkowitz & Tom Weiner on the Ukraine War forum. Whatchya Readin'? Megan Zinn with GCC's Laura Tilsley Garcia & Smith's Velma Garcia.

John Berkowitz's default is to be in problem-solving mode. So after selling his first company Yodle for $340 million, he was ready to get back in the ring. In 2015, John started OJO, an industry-leading real estate technology company that partners with the top real estate teams and agents to deliver value for millions of consumers. OJO was early to use AI to help people navigate the world of real estate. John shares how the company delivers personalization at scale, why it's important to stay curious, and why he treats OJO as a family business and considers his wife and four kids as an extension of his executive team.

Mission-driven companies know the power of purpose. The strategies of realizing the company's purpose will help you create the kind of team that you always wanted. Today's guest is John Berkowitz, Founder and CEO at OJO Labs. Inc Magazine ranked his company #49 on the 2021 Inc 5000 list. OJO Labs provides the only solution homebuyers, sellers, and owners need to navigate the complex real estate landscape. John and I talk about realizing the company's purpose. We share with you strategies to unite and align your people. Get the show notes for Realizing the Company's Purpose with John Berkowitz at OJO Labs Click to Tweet: Listening to a fantastic episode on Growth Think Tank featuring #JohnBerkowitz with your host @GeneHammett https://bit.ly/gttJohnBerkowitz #RealizingTheCompanysPurpose #GeneHammettPodcast #GHepisode844 #GTTepisodes #Inc2021 #RealEstate Give Growth Think Tank a review on iTunes!

Hello, everyone. Welcome back to CEO Secrets. Our special guest for today was named an Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2021 Central Texas Award winner. He is the CEO and Founder of OJO Labs, which ranked 49th out of 5000 of the fastest-growing companies in America. I'm super excited to welcome on the show, John Berkowitz. John came from a family of entrepreneurs. This fueled his desire to seek out problems that have never been solved before, find solutions, and build a business around them. In 2005, he co-founded Yodle, an all-in-one digital marketing platform for more than 50,000 SMB customers. It was later acquired by Web.com for $342 million. However, John felt unfulfilled after the exit from Yodle. He felt that he didn't meet their company's goal, making a significant difference in favor of small business owners. This is why in 2015, he started OJO Labs to empower real estate consumers to make better decisions with the help of deeply personalized technology. Today, OJO Labs has expanded to five regions with over 500 employees. They've also acquired several technology companies over the years and are expected to grow by 250% by the end of the year. Let us hear from John as he shares how his biggest failure led him to build a business that is a powerhouse in the industry and provides real-world value. Top Takeaways: 9:07 How the Prime Minister of St.Lucia jumpstarted their company's startup. 12:49 What do OJO Labs' growth and growing bamboo have in common? 15:10 Does John consider Zillow as a competitor? 16:34 What is OJO Labs' strategy to overcome a behemoth like Zillow? 17:42 Why not being number one on Google doesn't mean you can't be a more prominent company 17:55 The importance of identifying the right partners 20:36 The one feature you could focus on that would just suck off so much traffic from portals like Realtor.com and Zillow 22:43 The most significant innovation in real estate 24:24 Why John thinks that iBuyers and cash offers are just iterations on an old business 25:37 What makes OJO Labs significantly different or better than Zillow? 27:17 The thing that John has been obsessing about for the last five years 29:44 What was John's most significant failure? 33:26 Why John feels super-uncomfortable when it comes to awards 34:51 When to raise money, and when to bootstrap? To get a hold of John Berkowitz, send an email to: john@ojo.com Episode Transcript

John talks about starting Yodle right after college, yellow pages, inside sales at Yodle and ProfitFuel, growth companies and almost taking Yodle public, Yodle's acquisition by web.com, founding OJO, how he's using his learnings from Yodle to lead OJO, his father's construction business, and his advice to other entrepreneurs.

How do you pull off the biggest business deal of your life... while a pandemic changes all the rules? That's what John Berkowitz of OJO Labs pulled off, raising $68.1 million in the process. And here's the craziest part: The pandemic may have been the thing that made it all possible.

How do you pull off the biggest business deal of your life... while a pandemic changes all the rules? That's what John Berkowitz of OJO Labs pulled off, raising $68.1 million in the process. And here's the craziest part: The pandemic may have been the thing that made it all possible.

The pandemic is not only changing lifestyle decisions across the country, it's transforming how consumers search for and select their next home. Ojo Labs was well positioned for the pandemic. The Austin-based real estate tech startup completed a major acquisition earlier this year to feed it's AI platform with buyers and sellers. In this episode, ABJ Managing Editor Will Anderson chats with Co-Founder and CEO John Berkowitz, who recaps a hectic year of exponential growth for Ojo Labs.

About the Episode On this episode, I’m joined by tech entrepreneur, and founder of Yodle Inc and OJOLabs, John Berkowitz, a man who is revolutionizing how consumers make decisions with what he calls “the most expensive refrigerator magnet for agents.” After starting Yodle in college and growing it to a tech brand that sold for over $300 million, and dealing with some of the challenges and stresses that come with being a first-time founder, John decided to build a business that could allow him to make a bigger impact, and he found something that fulfilled his priority for a high-magnitude opportunity.     Building meaningful business platforms that defy the status-quo has long been in John’s DNA. Fueled with the vision to build a product that would truly meet and serve consumers’ needs for valuable information, John co-founded and launched OJO Labs in 2015. OJO Labs has quickly become a leader in conversational AI technology with a powerful team working toward developing the best product possible, and a sizable opportunity meeting the perfect set of resources along key partnerships at the right time. John’s dedication to establishing a positive work environment has resulted in OJO Labs being recognized among the best places to work nationally by Inc. Magazine, Fortune Magazine, Built In and Comparably, and regionally by the Austin Chamber of Commerce and Austin Business Journal multiple years in a row. Recently, John was named to Swanepoel’s SP200 and The Most Powerful Technology Executives in The Residential Real Estate Brokerage Industry list.   Understanding the pains of what it means to run your own business and be fully accountable, and the level of responsibility to serve the end user is what drives him, and that’s what drove the creation of OJO.    There are so many challenges that come with running a business, and what people don’t talk about is how much long-term stress the people who run these businesses take on. In order to overcome the stress, it’s important to have a greater goal or purpose behind the business because that’s what will fuel them through all of the phases, and fuel them to stay focused on what matters.     The thing about business is, whether you run a small company or a large operation; no matter what reason you have for being in business, the journey is not easy. Companies are really hard to build and maintain, and what makes it easier is really having a North star that guides you, and being driven by the mission to solve a problem, not the outcome. If we’re driven by that we’ll always focus on what will benefit the end-user. In Today’s Episode, We Talk About; - John’s journey as an entrepreneur prior to real estate and starting Yodle at 21.  - Exiting Yodle and the importance of being led by value not the goal to exit the business.  - Entrepreneurial PTSD and the challenges founders face  - The journey of OJOLabs and why John chose it as his next venture after Yodle. - The difference between real AI and what people say AI is. - Scaling and its connection to a lack of entrepreneurial desire.  - What John is excited about, what he has changed his mind on and something surprising about him.  - The value of earned trust, and why it’s what makes a real difference in business.  What doesn’t exist today is a consumer trusting a product or company  Guest Info   John Berkowitz is the Co-founder and CEO of OJO Labs, an Austin-based company that has quickly become a leader in conversational AI technology. With the application of its patented AI, OJO empowers people to make better decisions through the fusion of machine and human intelligence by automating lead conversations for agents and creating data-driven, personalized experiences for consumers. John’s track record of building and scaling successful, mission-driven technology companies with award-winning workplaces paved the way for the formation of OJO in 2015. John’s dedication toward building a positive work environment led to OJO being named to Comparably’s 2018 Best Company Culture list, and Built In Austin’s Best Places to Work in 2019.    Prior to founding OJO, John co-founded Yodle, and was instrumental in building it into a $200M+ revenue leader in the online marketing space with more than 50,000 SMB customers and over 1,400 employees. In February 2016, Yodle was acquired by Web.com in a $342 million all cash transaction. Recently, John was named to Swanepoel’s SP200 and The Most Powerful Technology Executives in The Residential Real Estate Brokerage Industry list. John is actively involved in nonprofits, and currently serves as CASA’s board president, using his entrepreneurial background and resources to fight for the welfare of children in the communities he operates in.

About the Episode On this episode, I’m joined by tech entrepreneur, and founder of Yodle Inc and OJOLabs, John Berkowitz, a man who is revolutionizing how consumers make decisions with what he calls “the most expensive refrigerator magnet for agents.” After starting Yodle in college and growing it to a tech brand that sold for over $300 million, and dealing with some of the challenges and stresses that come with being a first-time founder, John decided to build a business that could allow him to make a bigger impact, and he found something that fulfilled his priority for a high-magnitude opportunity.     Building meaningful business platforms that defy the status-quo has long been in John’s DNA. Fueled with the vision to build a product that would truly meet and serve consumers’ needs for valuable information, John co-founded and launched OJO Labs in 2015. OJO Labs has quickly become a leader in conversational AI technology with a powerful team working toward developing the best product possible, and a sizable opportunity meeting the perfect set of resources along key partnerships at the right time. John’s dedication to establishing a positive work environment has resulted in OJO Labs being recognized among the best places to work nationally by Inc. Magazine, Fortune Magazine, Built In and Comparably, and regionally by the Austin Chamber of Commerce and Austin Business Journal multiple years in a row. Recently, John was named to Swanepoel’s SP200 and The Most Powerful Technology Executives in The Residential Real Estate Brokerage Industry list.   Understanding the pains of what it means to run your own business and be fully accountable, and the level of responsibility to serve the end user is what drives him, and that’s what drove the creation of OJO.    There are so many challenges that come with running a business, and what people don’t talk about is how much long-term stress the people who run these businesses take on. In order to overcome the stress, it’s important to have a greater goal or purpose behind the business because that’s what will fuel them through all of the phases, and fuel them to stay focused on what matters.     The thing about business is, whether you run a small company or a large operation; no matter what reason you have for being in business, the journey is not easy. Companies are really hard to build and maintain, and what makes it easier is really having a North star that guides you, and being driven by the mission to solve a problem, not the outcome. If we’re driven by that we’ll always focus on what will benefit the end-user. In Today’s Episode, We Talk About; - John’s journey as an entrepreneur prior to real estate and starting Yodle at 21.  - Exiting Yodle and the importance of being led by value not the goal to exit the business.  - Entrepreneurial PTSD and the challenges founders face  - The journey of OJOLabs and why John chose it as his next venture after Yodle. - The difference between real AI and what people say AI is. - Scaling and its connection to a lack of entrepreneurial desire.  - What John is excited about, what he has changed his mind on and something surprising about him.  - The value of earned trust, and why it’s what makes a real difference in business.  What doesn’t exist today is a consumer trusting a product or company  Guest Info   John Berkowitz is the Co-founder and CEO of OJO Labs, an Austin-based company that has quickly become a leader in conversational AI technology. With the application of its patented AI, OJO empowers people to make better decisions through the fusion of machine and human intelligence by automating lead conversations for agents and creating data-driven, personalized experiences for consumers. John’s track record of building and scaling successful, mission-driven technology companies with award-winning workplaces paved the way for the formation of OJO in 2015. John’s dedication toward building a positive work environment led to OJO being named to Comparably’s 2018 Best Company Culture list, and Built In Austin’s Best Places to Work in 2019.    Prior to founding OJO, John co-founded Yodle, and was instrumental in building it into a $200M+ revenue leader in the online marketing space with more than 50,000 SMB customers and over 1,400 employees. In February 2016, Yodle was acquired by Web.com in a $342 million all cash transaction. Recently, John was named to Swanepoel’s SP200 and The Most Powerful Technology Executives in The Residential Real Estate Brokerage Industry list. John is actively involved in nonprofits, and currently serves as CASA’s board president, using his entrepreneurial background and resources to fight for the welfare of children in the communities he operates in.

We talk to Cyrus Summerlin the co-founder of the app Down To Shop, that promises users the "funnest way to shop." Plus, we have OJO Labs CEO, John Berkowitz, on how they use artificial intelligence and image recognition with their app OJO Home, which will help you find the perfect home. Also, we talk to six-grader, Ellie Skalla, on how she created the strategy board game, Galactiquest, that can now be found in Target stores across the United States. In Socially Speaking, we discuss Instagram's test in Canada of removing the ability for others to see the number of likes on your posts.

OVERVIEW Listen in as I interview John Berkowitz, Co-Founder and CEO of OJO Labs in Austin, Texas.  As we enter the early days of the 4th Industrial Revolution, the convergence of large amounts of data being capture on various devices and distributed computing power has ushered in a new world of artificial intelligence and machine learning.  Many new commercial iterations AI have focused on service industries and trying to create applications that can service consumers better than the level of service historically provided by humans.  John provides his thoughts on the promise of AI in real estate and what OJO Labs is doing to help both consumers and agents get value out this new technology. JOHN'S THOUGHTS: AI is technology that allows machines to perform tasks that previously were better performed by humans Artificial General Intelligence is where machines are able to “think” like humans and we are far away from that level of AI More narrow AI based on natural language processing, visual perception and pattern recognition is available today OJO launched in 2015 and it was not initially designed to be an AI company.  It is now focused on helping consumers make better decisions. Initially launched a text bot and tested with consumers and learned that consumers will ask questions that they might not ask with humans but that the technology needed to be conversational in nature They are still very early in their tech development process OJO is trying to solve the problem where prospective home buyers are unwilling to talk with a human early in their home search process and provide them with meaningful assistance that can eventually act as a bridge to real estate agents OJO's customer is the consumer but deeply believes that real estate professionals are essential to a consumer's real estate journey Biggest challenge is trying to develop an application based on a complex and changing consumer dynamic He sees technology as reducing the number of agents necessary to service the demand but does not see the agent role going away LINKS www.ojolabs.com www.whatmatters.com  

John Berkowitz is CEO & Co-Founder of OJO Labs in Austin.   Before launching OJO, John founded Yodle, a provider of local online advertising and marketing services, in 2005 with his childhood friends Ben Rubenstein and Nathaniel Stevens. They grew it to a large company with more than 1,500 employees and $200 million in revenue. In 2016, Web.com bought Yodle for $342 million.   At Yodle, John served many roles including launching and managing the 50m enterprise division of Yodle and most recently managing all strategic relationships for Yodle as Vice President of Business Development.   In Austin, John also serves on the board of CASA of Travis County, a children's advocacy organization and sits on the board of several young companies as an entrepreneurial advisor. Berkowitz has a B.A. in International Business from George Washington University.