Designing for Trust with Airbnb's Joe Gebbia and Reid Hoffman | The Scaleup Offsite 2017 | Summary and Q&A

TL;DR

Airbnb's co-founder, Joe Gebbia, shares insights on scaling, design, and trust in the early days of the company.

Key Insights

• 👻 Doing things that don't scale initially can be crucial for startup success, allowing for personalized experiences and valuable insights.
• 🖐️ Trust is essential in a sharing economy platform, and design plays a significant role in establishing it.
• ❓ Scaling requires strategic hiring of senior leadership and maintaining cultural alignment.
• 💯 Expanding beyond the core offering can enrich the user experience and provide opportunities for growth.

Transcript

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Questions & Answers

Q: How did Airbnb initially gain traction in an industry that was dominated by traditional travel accommodations?

Airbnb recognized the need to prioritize design and personal touch to overcome the stranger-danger bias. By focusing on creating a trust-building experience, they were able to attract early adopters and encourage word-of-mouth referrals.

Q: How did Airbnb maintain its culture and focus on design as it scaled?

Airbnb emphasized the importance of hiring senior leadership early on and training interviewers to assess candidates based on their alignment with the company's values. They also encouraged employees to use the product themselves through travel stipends and incorporated elements of Airbnb's unique listings into office spaces.

Q: How did Airbnb expand beyond just accommodations and into experiences?

Airbnb recognized that accommodations were just one part of the overall travel experience. By launching Experiences, they extended their community's offerings to include local activities and curated experiences, allowing travelers to have a holistic trip planning experience.

Q: How did Airbnb approach scalability while maintaining a personalized touch?

Airbnb initially focused on quality over quantity, prioritizing primary homes and hosts with a genuine passion for providing unique experiences. They later expanded their supply by welcoming empty-nesters and continuous customer feedback helped shape the platform's user experience.

Summary

In this video, Joe Gebbia, the co-founder of Airbnb, discusses the importance of doing things that don't scale in order to achieve success. He shares the story of how they started going door-to-door in New York to improve the quality of the listings by taking better photos. This personal touch and attention to detail created a stronger connection with their early customers and led to increased growth. Joe also talks about designing for trust and how they overcame the initial skepticism of investors and users. He emphasizes the importance of culture and preserving it as the company scales. Additionally, he shares his annual tradition of taking a vacation where he books an Airbnb last minute and explores a new destination with just one bag.

Questions & Answers

Q: How did Airbnb go from being stuck in a growth plateau to achieving scale?

Joe explains that before they achieved success, they believed in the myth of Silicon Valley that everything must be solved scalably. However, they were not making any progress until they realized that it's okay to do things that don't scale. They decided to take better photos for hosts in New York and personally went door-to-door to offer their service. This personal touch and attention to detail helped improve the quality of the listings and created trust with their early customers. This led to increased revenue and more listings.

Q: How did Airbnb design a better user experience through non-scalable methods?

By going door-to-door and taking better photos for hosts, Airbnb co-founders were able to witness firsthand the UX (user experience) struggles that their customers faced. They observed hosts navigating through their website and trying to use different features but not being able to do so effectively. This direct interaction allowed Airbnb to identify and address usability issues that they were otherwise unaware of. By implementing the hosts' feedback and making improvements quickly, they were able to enhance the user experience and encourage more bookings.

Q: How did Airbnb overcome the initial skepticism of investors and users?

Joe mentions that they faced the challenge of the stranger-danger bias, which is ingrained in people from childhood. Investors were skeptical of a business model that involved strangers staying in each other's homes. To overcome this, Airbnb had to find ways to create a condition where people felt comfortable saying yes. They did this by providing extensive information and increasing transparency about hosts and guests. They also learned about the right amount of disclosure in messages between hosts and guests to establish trust. By continuously improving the customer experience and addressing safety concerns, Airbnb was able to build trust and gain traction.

Q: How did Airbnb preserve its culture as the company scaled?

Joe explains that they realized the importance of culture early on and made it a priority. They were intentional about hiring the right people who aligned with their mission and core values. In the early stages, the co-founders were involved in every interview to ensure a good cultural fit. As the company grew, they scaled their hiring process by training core value interviewers to screen candidates. They also encourage employees to use the product and experience it as customers by offering stipend credits for travel. Additionally, Airbnb transformed their office spaces to resemble their unique listings as a visual reminder of their core offering.

Q: How did designing for trust play a key role in Airbnb's success?

Joe says that trust has always been crucial for Airbnb, considering the initial skepticism and stranger-danger bias they faced. They designed to create trust by providing enough information and transparency for guests and hosts to feel comfortable. They learned about the right amount of disclosure in messages and improved the feedback system to ensure trustworthiness. By continuously iterating and learning from their users, they were able to design an experience that instilled trust and became the foundation of their business.

Q: How did Airbnb approach the different types of supply in their marketplace?

Joe acknowledges that Airbnb has been historically supply constrained. In the early days, they focused on property managers as a source of supply, but soon realized that it compromised the customer experience. They shifted their focus back to primary homes of individuals, as they provide a more authentic and quality experience for guests. By targeting primary residents and encouraging empty-nesters to host, Airbnb was able to broaden their supply while maintaining the core offering that differentiated them from traditional accommodations.

Q: How did Airbnb launch its "Experiences" feature and what was the vision behind it?

Joe explains that since 2012, Airbnb knew that accommodations were just one part of the overall travel experience. They aspired to design the entire trip and make it more than just finding a place to stay. In November, they introduced "Experiences" where users can find local activities and experiences provided by hosts. The vision was to infuse every part of the travel journey with the same values and quality as their accommodations. By expanding beyond accommodations, Airbnb aimed to provide a holistic and curated travel experience for their users.

Q: How did Airbnb overcome the challenges of scale and culture preservation?

Joe acknowledges that scaling while preserving culture is a tough challenge. He shares advice from Tony Hsieh that culture should be prioritized from the beginning and that it's easier to mold concrete when it's still wet. Airbnb invested in hiring the right people who believed in their mission and culture. They built processes like core values interviews to ensure cultural alignment during the hiring process. Airbnb also encourages employees to stay connected with the service by providing travel stipend credits and having them actively use the product. Designing office spaces to reflect their unique listings helps keep the focus on what matters to their customers and reinforces the culture.

Q: How did Joe Gebbia come up with the idea of taking a Jetpack vacation and what is the purpose behind it?

Joe started the annual tradition of taking a Jetpack vacation in December. He wanted to have the experience of booking an Airbnb last minute and exploring a new destination with minimal planning. By selecting a destination on December 26th and traveling on December 27th with just one bag, he forces himself to be spontaneous and open to new experiences. The purpose is to step into the unknown, immerse himself in different cultures, and understand the travel experiences from the customer's perspective.

Takeaways

One of the key takeaways from Joe Gebbia's insights is the importance of doing things that don't scale initially in order to achieve growth and success. By going door-to-door, taking personal photos for hosts, and engaging with customers directly in the early days, Airbnb was able to improve their product and foster trust. They learned about the significance of user experience and continuously iterated to provide a better service. Another important aspect is designing for trust, which involved addressing safety concerns, providing transparency, and creating a condition where people feel comfortable using the platform. As the company scaled, preserving culture became a priority. Airbnb focused on hiring the right people, involving everyone in the company in the customer's experience, and maintaining a strong cultural fit. The launch of "Experiences" expanded Airbnb's offering beyond accommodations to create a curated and holistic travel experience. By taking a Jetpack vacation each year, Joe stays connected to the customer perspective and embraces spontaneity and exploration. Overall, these insights highlight the significance of personalization, attention to detail, and cultural preservation as Airbnb continues to grow and innovate.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Airbnb started by understanding the importance of doing things that don't scale, such as going door-to-door to improve photo quality for listings.

• Design played a crucial role in building trust and creating a comfortable experience for users.

• Scaling the company required hiring senior leadership, maintaining a strong culture, and constantly staying connected with customers.