Two-sided review system

by | Nov 10, 2025 | Business, thoughts

By building a two-sided review system, Airbnb basically challenges the old premise that “the customer is always right” and gives the other side a voice too. I wish we could implement that in every business on earth. So yes, I do root for Airbnb to become the super app...

Celebrate the Wins

by | Oct 27, 2025 | Business, thoughts

“I became an artist, and thank God I did, because we are the only profession that honors what it means to live a life.” Viola Davis’s 2017 Oscars acceptance speech, when she won Best Supporting Actress for Fences. This sentence has stayed with me for years because it...

Your product will suck for someone

by | Oct 7, 2025 | Business, thoughts

Your product or service WILL suck for someone. Someone on your team will make a mistake that costs a client money. A customer will hit a technical glitch that completely throws them off. At some point, a customer will get billed wrongly. It’s inevitable – and...

The business of reaction

by | Sep 12, 2025 | Business, thoughts

We fuck up sometimes. The coffee or tea station isn’t properly refilled, the housekeeper forgets to turn on the dishwasher, or in more extreme cases, the apartment isn’t clean when the guest arrives. And yet, in many of these situations, we still get 5-star reviews...

Fifth floor, three suitcases

by | Sep 10, 2025 | Business, thoughts

I heard a woman shouting in distress, clearly overwhelmed. I ran down four floors to see what was happening. She had just arrived from overseas as a tourist to her Airbnb flat and realized the elevator wasn’t working – they needed to get up to the 5th floor with...

Faster, Clearer, Sharper

by | Sep 8, 2025 | Business, thoughts

It took me 2 years to reach six figures in my first business. It took only 9 months in my second. ** The first time, I was fumbling with structure, tools, and procedures – making mistake after mistake. The second time, it came much easier. ** Hiring was a whole...