Carpe diem may be Annie Slattery’s unofficial motto. At home and at work, Annie finds opportunities and acts on them. Cases in point: She turned an Australian backpacking trip into a 14-year stay and sold the business she founded after meeting the perfect partner (Houzz!). As director of Product for Houzz Pro, she uses that same curiosity and bias for action to shape the products that help pros save time and money using our software.

What did you want to be when you grew up?
At one point, becoming a hairdresser was my dream. But I loved maths at school and wanted to be an accountant, which I was early in my career. 

All my family are entrepreneurs, so I was always interested in business and wanted to have my own. When I was little, I didn’t have a lemonade stand or anything traditional, but my siblings and I were always wheeling and dealing. My mom and dad had a few different businesses, so there was a lot going on, which gave us an opportunity to work with them.

How did you find out about Houzz?
My husband, who’s a builder by trade; Jonathan Clarke; my brother and I started a company called ConX. Jonathan and I used to sit next to each other in a startup hub in Sydney, and he helped me code this little piece of software that started the business. 

We evolved quite quickly: We went from being a marketplace to software as a service, and then we raised an investment round. In 2021, I was selected to attend a workshop put on by the Australian government that aimed to help startups launch in the U.S. After four or five intense days, we participated in a virtual demo day, which was attended by someone at Houzz. The timing was right to reconnect with this Houzzer four months later and just two quick months after that, ConX became part of Houzz. It was all very fast.

What made joining Houzz feel right for you?
I had seen Adi [Tatarko, Houzz co-founder and past CEO, and current executive chair] speak in Sydney in 2014, which was when we were thinking about creating a startup. From that point on, I wanted to learn more about the company, so it was quite interesting to have someone from Houzz at my presentation many years later. At the time, Houzz had Houzz Pro, a B2B SaaS solution, and it was missing one critical piece for the construction industry – takeoff software – which we were building. It felt like really good synergy to join. 

What do you enjoy most about what you do now?
My background is not in product management. I started as an accountant and became a product manager by necessity at ConX, because in a startup, you do everything: I was business, I was product, I raised the money, I was looking after the team. I had so many different hats. 

When I joined Houzz, I had the opportunity to move into this role. It was perfect, because I love building great products! I really am passionate about tying in customer feedback and business metrics to prioritize what we build. Being in a product role gives you an opportunity to bring all those pieces together.

At Houzz, we’re so customer focused, and our customers’ needs shape how we build and grow our products. At the end of the day, if you can deliver a great product that your customers really want, your business is guaranteed to be successful. 

What’s something that has surprised you about working here?
I love working with so many great people, and there’s just a strong personal connection no matter where you sit. I lived in Australia when we had an office there, and it was such a nice team and vibe. Even though I work virtually in Ireland now, I had an opportunity to attend a trade show this year, where I met people for the first time who I work so closely with. It felt like I had met them a hundred times before. 

You have an advisory role with our newest employee resource group, Women@Houzz. Why was it important for you to be involved?
When I was part of the startup community, there was always a big spotlight on female founders. “Women in tech” was a big focus, because women were underrepresented in the industry. That’s not the case at Houzz, though; we have a very balanced organization. 

I was asked to be on the panel for a presentation by two Houzzers in RISE [Houzz’s leadership development program] where they presented on creating a women’s group. It was a great idea, and I love meeting different people in other departments and being part of it.

What advice would you give to someone thinking about joining Houzz, either on your team or the company in general?
It’s a great company. We work with super smart, super friendly, diligent, helpful people. And I would advise them to go for it!

What makes you most excited about the future of Houzz?
We’re building a product that our customers really genuinely want, need and love. If we can focus there and stay true to our customers, we have such an exciting future ahead.

If you’re interested in joining our team, we’re hiring! Check out available opportunities at houzz.com/jobs.