Zillow just wrapped its 28th edition of Hack Week, our annual innovation sprint when employees can step away from day-to-day work to imagine, design and build what’s next. Spanning offices from Seattle to Mexico City to our global Cloud HQ, Hack Week is a rallying point for creative thinking and bold experimentation.
At its core, Hack Week is about solving real problems — for our consumers and for each other — with the ultimate goal of helping more movers succeed. But just as importantly, Hack Week is about building culture. It’s a space for learning, connecting and celebrating what makes Zillow… Zillow.
What is Hack Week?
Hack Week is an open forum where ideas of all shapes and sizes are welcome, whether you’ve been at Zillow for 10 years or 10 days. It’s a judgment-free zone where anyone can tackle that wild idea that’s been bouncing around in their head, or collaborate on a concept sparked in the moment.
The week is also an amazing example of what intentional in-person collaboration looks like in Cloud HQ, bringing together our workforce with intention, not obligation. There are opportunities to learn, grow and have fun together — from expert-led workshops to “ask me anything” sessions (AMAs) that bring leaders and innovators together for thought-provoking conversations. This year’s event also featured video game and table tennis tournaments, tech neck massages and even themed swag, all designed to recharge teams and foster community.
Why Hack Week is important for Zillow
At Zillow, we believe our greatest innovations come from thinking differently — and from creating the space for that thinking to thrive. Hack Week reflects who we are as a company: open, inventive and relentlessly focused on the future of real estate.
Here are five reasons it matters:
1. We’re greater than the sum of our parts.
Innovation thrives when diverse minds and perspectives meet. Hack Week brings together people from across functions — from product managers to designers, engineers to marketers, legal to operations — to build something collectively. These cross-functional partnerships often spark ideas that wouldn’t have formed in day-to-day team workflows.
Some of our most impactful products began not with a single genius moment but through open collaboration and ideation across disciplines. Hack Week creates space for these partnerships to form and flourish.
2. Every voice matters.
Titles take a back seat during Hack Week. A seasoned principal engineer, a brand-new hire, a long-time executive — everyone gets the same chance to pitch, build and lead.
We foster an inclusive environment where anyone with a compelling idea is empowered to run with it. This flat structure helps unlock hidden talents and perspectives that may otherwise stay dormant. The best ideas can come from anywhere, and Hack Week is our way of making sure they do.
3. One team, one roof (even if it’s virtual).
Zillow is a distributed company — operating in Cloud HQ — with employees spread across cities, time zones and countries. We don’t gather just for the sake of it. We focus on adding real value, such as driving cross-organization connections and team building, or creating the conditions for moments of big innovation.
Hack Week brings employees together around a shared spirit of experimentation and purpose. It reinforces our cultural values of inclusion and collaboration by ensuring everyone has a seat at the table.
4. It’s who we are.
Hack Week is more than a fun break from the norm — it’s a living example of how Zillow operates at its best. It embodies our belief in bold thinking, user-focused innovation and constant reinvention. And it helps us stay ahead in a competitive tech landscape by continually investing in the creativity of our people. It’s a true reflection of our culture — one that values ideas from all corners of the company, empowers experimentation and gives people the runway to lift vision to impactful heights.
5. Ideas become realities.
Hack Week isn’t just about creativity — it’s about outcomes. Some of Zillow’s most powerful tools and features were born from previous Hack Weeks, including:
- Dark Mode: This soothing low-light interface reduces eye strain for late-night browsers and improves usability across platforms.
- My Agent: This tool personalizes the home search experience by matching users with compatible Premier Agent partners, creating a more seamless and productive journey.
- Down Payment Assistance module: Integrated directly into For Sale home detail pages, this feature connects buyers with local programs that make homeownership more accessible — no separate research required.
- Rental Payments: Built to meet the needs of both tenants and landlords, this secure, fully integrated tool makes rent collection easy and efficient without relying on expensive third-party apps.
- Report Discrimination: This essential tool allows users to report discrimination in listings, communications or experiences, reinforcing Zillow’s commitment to fair housing and inclusive experiences.
The big picture behind Hack Week
There’s more to moving house than browsing listings. A home is where people build their lives, and at Zillow, we take that seriously. Hack Week is just one way we translate that care into action, one innovative idea at a time. It’s how we iterate, test and build with empathy, always thinking one step ahead of what consumers will need next.
But Hack Week is also about something bigger: culture. It’s about learning from one another, challenging the status quo, finding joy in the process and reminding ourselves why we show up every day: to make it easier for people to find a place they can call home.
Innovation lives here, and it’s on full display at Hack Week. Many of the ideas sparked during the week go on to influence our product road maps, helping to accelerate Zillow’s technology and deliver real value to movers.