Irit Epelbaum, former Senior Product Manager at Trulia has joined VivaReal to lead product development and innovation. Irit spent 2.5 years in a leadership role at Trulia. She was also Head of Product at Peixe Urbano, Latin America’s first daily deals site that has morphed into a more broader business entering online restaurant reservations, food delivery and a recent focus on local commerce. The company is backed by Morgan Stanley, General Atlantic, Tiger Global, T. Rowe Price, Benchmark and Monashees. Prior to Trulia and Peixe Urbano she was a Product Manager at Merchant Circle and she did a stint at Google.
“We are thrilled to have Irit bring her experience in real estate and Internet startups to VivaReal. In 2013, we will be stepping up our focus on product and she is the perfect person to help VivaReal take things to the next level. Given her experience, Irit had her pick at any startup in Brazil and she chose to make VivaReal her home. This says a lot about what our team has done in such a short amount of time,” comments VivaReal CEO, Brian Requarth.
“As a consumer searching for an apartment in Brazil, I see so many opportunities to improve how people find properties across the country. Joining VivaReal provides me an opportunity to leverage my experience in online real estate search with my passion for startups. The Brazilian market has so much potential and after spending time with the VivaReal team, it became clear that I wanted to be a part of this company and help build an outstanding website for both home buyers and real estate companies,” states Irit.
Irit brings with her domain expertise in real estate and extensive experience working at top startups in the Silicon Valley and Latin America. Originally from Bolivia, she did her undergraduate (Economics and International Studies) at Yale University. She also holds an MBA from Stanford University.
Just a few months ago, VivaReal announced the hire of two other key executives.