News came out yesterday that Zillow acquired HotPads for 16 million. This brought a smile to my face because I knew one of the key players at HotPads, Jamie Clymer. I met Jamie at Dominion Enterprises (the owners of Homes.com) after my company eNeighborhoods was acquired by them. Jamie’s last role was as GM/VP of Homes.com and Agent Advantage (their agent website products). After a brief stint at Rentals.com he made the move to the West Coast to join HotPads as their GM and Vice President in San Francisco.

This dude is incredibly talented and smart and knows both the residential and rental portal space cold.

Acquisitions are made for various reasons but the key thing is putting together the right team. Jamie has the knowledge, experience and talent in this space to make things happen. This could make him HotPad’s Zillow’s secret weapon.