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Describing himself as a “serial entrepreneur and investor” Eugene local Chad Barczak got his start in business at the age of 14 and never looked back, that is, until he decided it was time to take an “adult gap year” in his early 50s. Along the way he founded a massively successful snowboard company, earned a BS (’98) and MBA (’99) from the UO Lundquist School of Business as a non-traditional student, and founded IDX – a leading national provider of real estate search applications. Chad served as CEO of this Eugene-based company for 18 years, managing over $1 trillion worth of active listings data from over 600 individual Multiple Listing Services (MLS) before a successful exit during the pandemic. Though upfront about some detours along the way – millions of dollars in pre-paid orders lost because of a legal mistake, flunking out of the UO (before going all in with his studies and earning straight As), and a questionable use of financial aid – to hear Chad tell it, his greatest failures have actually been his greatest successes.
When he’s not snowboarding down a Chilean mountain or on the hunt for new entrepreneurs to mentor, Chad has a soft spot for the nostalgic video games of his youth: you might also know him as the co-founder and lead investor of Eugene’s immensely popular Level Up Arcade.
Chad Barczak is being interviewed on the podcast by Lisa Calevi, Associate Director for Engagement.
To connect with Chad, visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barczak/
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