Jon and Peter dive into one of those ideas that sounds crazy at first but might actually be brilliant: buying luxury vacation properties as a business expense that doubles as a killer member benefit. Jon's been noodling on this concept for months, and it's finally survived his brutal idea-filtering process (which involves annoying everyone from his CFO to random Twitter buddies until the bad ideas die off).
Here's the pitch: Sagan would purchase several properties—think ski chalets, beach houses, maybe something in Mexico—and offer them to members at 50-75% below Airbnb rates. The kicker? Thanks to bonus depreciation and some creative tax structuring, the whole thing could essentially pay for itself while adding a premium benefit that helps with member retention.
Peter initially pushes back hard on the operational nightmare this could become. Nobody wants to field calls about broken ice makers or dirty towels. But as they hash it out, the vision gets clearer: professional property management with multiple layers between Jon and any actual guest issues, properties strategically located for both vacations and corporate retreats, and a focus on serving their high-trust member base rather than random Airbnb guests.
Successful entrepreneurs develop strategy not through formal PowerPoints and weighted decision matrices, but through relentless debate, pattern recognition, and asking "will this actually f***ing work?" over and over until the answer becomes clear.
Key Topics:
(01:49) The Art of Business Ideation: Volume Shooting vs. Analysis Paralysis
(11:56) Introducing the Vacation Property Concept for Sagan Members
(15:29) Bonus Depreciation and Tax Strategy Explained
(21:29) Solving the Property Management Problem Before It Starts
(27:51) Facilitating Global Team Meetups at Member Properties
(31:11) Location Strategy: East Coast, West Coast, International
(34:06) Building the Management Structure and Avoiding Operational Headaches
Stay connected for more insights and strategies by following:
Jon: @MatznerJon on X and at lazyleverage.beehiiv.com
Peter: @pslohmann on X and at peterlohmann.com
