002: Doug Lebda of LendingTree.com | How to Build and Re-Build a Remarkable Online Business

In this episode of the Smart Business Revolution Podcast, I had the pleasure of speaking with Doug Lebda, the founder of one of the most successful online businesses to survive through the dot-com era to today, Lending Tree.

LendingTree.com was founded in 1996, and was inspired by Lebda’s own personal frustration applying for a mortgage.

He wrote the business plan for Lending Tree while still in business school, then left a comfortable job as an auditor with PriceWaterhouseCoopers to roll the dice and launch Lending Tree.

He later oversaw the sale of Lending Tree to IAC Corp, the innovative and entrepreneurial holding company run by Barry Diller which owns numerous well known online businesses, such as Match.com, The Daily Beast, and College Humor.? He later served as President of IAC Corp from 2005 through 2008.

After IAC Corp decided to sell off Lending Tree in 2008, Lebda returned to the company he founded, and oversaw a successful turnaround, helping Lending Tree to thrive and grow once again.