299: Houzz Acquires Ivy- The Red Flags

The interior design industry was recently rocked with the news that Houzz.com acquired IvyMark for a reported $30 to $40 million dollars. There have been panel discussions on Facebook Live and other podcasters have addressed it on their shows as well. These discussions have covered, among other things, the motivations of both the Ivy team and of Houzz.com, the ramifications of the purchase to the interior designers who are using the IVY platform and the ripples this news is making through our industry.   I agree wholeheartedly that all of these discussions are important and valid and they have been well addressed. But today I want to address the lessons we can learn from this situation and talk about how and why it is so important for us as business owners to understand how Ivy and Houzz might have avoided some of this significant backlash from the design community. It begins and ends with you as a business owner, your conduct, your philosophy and your leadership.