Get To Know Lin Zhao, Thumbtack’s New Vice President of Commercial Operations
Lin Zhao recently joined Thumbtack as our Vice President of Commercial Operations where he leads the Revenue, Service and Product Operations teams. With 15+ years of global sales and operations experience working across multiple industries, such as retail, two-sided marketplaces and e-commerce, Lin is a visionary with a proven track record of building innovative customer experiences. In this Q&A, Lin shares more about his background, why supporting our pros has a special meaning for him and what he’s aiming to accomplish in this new role.
What first sparked your interest in joining Thumbtack?
Lin: I’ve been in the home services space for the past few years, so I’ve known of Thumbtack. Throughout my career, I’ve always been attracted to companies that operate in complex spaces and work to make people’s lives better. Thumbtack and home services check both of those boxes. It’s hard to find great local service professionals, and I see home services as the last frontier where technology hasn’t yet made things easier for homeowners. Thumbtack has been doing a lot of things right and there’s a lot more room to further innovate and grow.
As I discovered more about Thumbtack during my interview process, I was also struck by how genuine, low-ego and smart the people are here. I know that every company likes to say their people are what makes them special, but I’ve been wowed by the unique combination of humility and incredible drive in everyone I’ve met. I jumped at the opportunity to join, and I’m so glad that I did.
How would you describe your role and what you’re hoping to accomplish?
Lin: What I tell my family and friends is that I have two key responsibilities. The first is to help ensure that our fantastic Sales & Service teams, who have daily interactions with our consumers and pros, are at their best. My job is to make sure they have the right strategy, data, and operations to support them. The second is to advocate for Thumbtack’s pros and enable them to successfully grow their businesses.
Growing up, my mom cleaned people’s homes to support our family, so supporting our pros has special meaning to me. I believe that having the best local service professionals is what will differentiate Thumbtack from other platforms and foster an incredible customer experience. In terms of what I hope to accomplish, I want to partner with our teams here to build and scale a great experience for our pros that helps them grow their businesses and be successful with Thumbtack.
What previous experiences do you think you’ll draw from most in this role?
Lin: When I was at my last company, Wayfair, I started and scaled home services globally. We built the business through a combination of partnerships and proprietary technology to help match consumers with local professionals. Through that experience, I learned a lot about the challenges and opportunities of a marketplace business.
I’ve also led global sales and operations for several years. Having just started at Thumbtack, I’m already seeing similar opportunities to those I faced previously — this form of pattern recognition will help. Although, I’m constantly reminding myself that there’s a lot of new context here and I can’t assume what worked previously will automatically work here. For me, it’s all about staying curious, figuring out where past playbooks may apply and where I’ll need to reinvent based on what works for Thumbtack. I’m grateful that there’s an amazing team here and they’ve been so generous with their time and insights as I’m getting up to speed.
Which Thumbtack value resonates with you most?
Lin: Make it count. Life’s short and I believe what we spend time doing at work matters. I’ve been very blessed to have had the opportunity to make customers’ lives easier throughout my career. I’m excited to keep making a difference for the millions of homeowners who need a better solution to care for their homes.
How would you describe your approach to leadership?
Lin: I’ve been fortunate to have had a lot of great leaders that I’ve learned from and look up to — they’ve influenced my approach over the years. What I tell my team is that my job is to help them succeed, grow and be excited about the work we do.
I try to do a few things consistently to help towards that — the first is to care about my team as human beings. I don’t believe people should have to change who they are at work. What happens outside of work impacts what happens during work, and vice versa. I try to be curious about each person and really understand what matters to them so that I can best support them. The second is that I take a lot of pride in investing time to help my team grow. This isn’t just by providing constructive feedback, but also recognizing when someone really does something exceptional. I call it out and explain why it’s exceptional, so it’s easier to replicate in the future. Finally, I solicit constructive feedback and take actionable steps to improve. I remind my team that just like them, I’m here to get better each day. I’m grateful for their feedback and committed to improving my approach so that we can all be successful.
How do you think your leadership style will translate to Thumbtack’s virtual-first workplace?
Lin: I’ve always worked at companies that are in-person at an office full-time so our virtual-first model is new for me. Luckily, I’ve gotten a lot of helpful tips from those who have a lot more experience working virtually. I plan to heavily use Slack’s huddle feature to have quick conversations in order to problem-solve with my teams. I also want to recognize that while Thumbtack is virtual-first, it’s not virtual-only. I’ve been to five different team off-sites in my first three months and have gotten a lot out of those in-person interactions.
Switching gears: If you were a pro, what would be your specialty?
Lin: As someone who has always lived in apartments until very recently, I would say that I’m not very handy around the home. I have put together a ton of furniture with multiple moves in my life, so I would say a handyman who specializes in furniture assembly would be the best specialty for me.
What home project have you recently used a Thumbtack pro to tackle?
Lin: Since I joined Thumbtack, I’ve done a ton more home projects that the old me had been procrastinating on. I’ve been able to use Thumbtack to get shelves built in our garage to better maximize the space, trim tree branches away from our neighbor’s house and find a photographer for a surprise family day. It’s been enjoyable talking to the pros for these jobs, and learning about their experience so we can strive to keep improving.
What accomplishments are you most proud of outside of work?
Lin: Marrying my amazing partner and raising 3 girls under 5. My wife wakes up every day at 5am and goes to save people’s lives as an interventional radiologist, so that’s incredibly inspiring. My kids teach me patience every day and I’m still in awe watching them grow up. As many parents know, it’s a constant challenge but also so rewarding.
I’m also proud that I taught myself a few things that many people learned when they were kids. A few examples: I taught myself how to swim, play the guitar and ride a bike all after college. It’s amazing how much you pick up through YouTube and practice!
Want to learn more about open roles at Thumbtack? Visit thumbtack.com/careers.
