My First Million The Hospitality Principles That Build Billion-Dollar Startups
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Sep 30, 2025 
Will Guidara, a renowned restaurateur and author of Unreasonable Hospitality, shares insights on how hospitality principles can elevate startups. He emphasizes the power of genuine customer experiences over perfection, illustrated by a memorable hot dog story. Guidara discusses operational strategies like the 'Dreamweaver' role to personalize guest interactions and the importance of empowering frontline staff. He explains how small gestures can significantly enhance loyalty and drive profits, advocating for a hospitality-first approach in business.
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Perfection Enables Human Magic
- Obsessing over perfection unlocked hospitality that made imperfect human moments stickiest.
- The relentless pursuit of hospitality, not just excellence, created memorable guest reactions.
The Hot Dog That Stole The Show
- Will overheard diners say they never had a New York hot dog and ran out to buy one during service.
- The simple hot dog plated fancily produced the most emotional reaction he'd seen in fine dining.
Rules For Effective Feedback
- Praise publicly and criticize privately following simple rules to make feedback effective.
- Keep criticism unemotional, target behavior, be consistent, and praise more than you criticize.
