A new detail about the Broker Public Portal, from Rob’s conversation with Victor Lund:

…the thinking behind the BPP corporate structure is that it will be structured more-or-less as a non-profit. Shares in the company cannot be sold, and no dividends will ever be paid. Should a company leave the BPP, and it has shares, it surrenders them back to the company without compensation.

A non-profit? Really? Can you think of a single non profit entity that has managed to compete at massive scale online? (in an industry controlled by for profits – not a fundraising vertical). I personally see zero chance of success if the team behind this project doesn’t have a massive, massive financial upside. Rob agrees:

…without a for-profit structure, it becomes impossible to recruit the best of the best that BPP will need to be competitive. No disrespect to the tech folks working at MLSs around the country, but not one of them would turn down Facebook if it came calling with offers of stock options that could make them millionaires.

Starting with the most important position, the CEO, how are you getting the talent to compete against Spencer Rascoff, Paul Levine, and Ryan O’Hara without some prospect of serious personal gain for that individual? “We’ll pay a great salary, and have great benefits” goes only so far against “You can make $50 million when we go IPO”.

Without the right people, you cannot compete. And without the right incentives, you cannot get the right people. Greed works.

You simply cannot win online without amazing talent, and most great talent needs considerable financial upside because their opportunity cost is so high.

So, will the folks behind the national public portal get greedy? For their sake (and all the brokers involved), I hope so.