John Andrew Entwistle, CEO of Wander, shares insights on transforming his vacation rental company to an asset-light model, growing from 13 to over 1,000 locations. He discusses the switch from a REIT approach, emphasizing adaptability and high customer satisfaction in a competitive market. The conversation highlights strategic partnerships with homeowners and the importance of data-driven scaling. Entwistle unveils ambitious plans for the future, including expanding to 300,000 locations and enhancing services with a unique concierge experience.
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question_answer ANECDOTE
Pivot from Owning to Asset-Light
Wander initially owned properties to control quality and scale the business through a REIT model.
Due to macroeconomic shifts, they quickly pivoted to an asset-light model with third-party homeowners while maintaining quality.
insights INSIGHT
Control Over Ownership
Control of property quality is more critical than ownership for maintaining guest satisfaction.
Proprietary software orchestrates third-party vendors to ensure consistent quality across homes.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Focus on Unit Economics
Founders must shift focus at growth stages from discovery to optimizing proven scalable channels.
Maximize longevity by honing unit economics and profitability rather than chasing all growth opportunities.
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High Growth Handbook is a comprehensive playbook for growing startups into global brands. Written by Elad Gil, who has extensive experience working with high-growth tech companies, the book provides crystal-clear guidance on navigating the complex challenges faced by leaders and operators in high-growth startups. It covers essential topics including the role of the CEO, managing a board, recruiting and overseeing an executive team, mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings, and late-stage funding. The book is informed by interviews with dynamic leaders in Silicon Valley, such as Reid Hoffman, Marc Andreessen, and Aaron Levie.
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Wander raised $50+ million in a Series B led QED and Fifth Wall. The fun part is, Wander did it by throwing out a lot of what we discussed in the first Wander Deep Dive — which, at the time, I said was the absolute right way to do things — and growing insanely fast while maintaining its high quality bar. I started doing these Deeper Dives, following up on companies I’d written Deep Dives on in the past to understand what I got right, what I got wrong, and what we could learn from both, in March, with a Deeper Dive on Primer. I gotta admit, I was a little smug: Primer was doing great, in large part because it had gone more vertically integrated, which is exactly my thesis on how these things should be built. “And if you want to fix K-12 education,” I wrote, “you need to build schools.”Welp… over the past two years, Wander shut down the REIT I praised, went asset-light, grew from 13 to more than 1,000 locations, grew GMV 6x over the past 18 months, and is onboarding over $1 billion worth of real estate monthly. And while growing, its NPS has actually ticked up to 85. Being wrong and learning is why I do the Deeper Dives! If companies could be built as cleanly as I can write an essay, I’d be a billionaire. You’ve got to play the game; the lessons emerge from the messiness, and from following the best companies as they evolve. So today, I'm talking to Wander CEO John Andrew Entwistle about what we both got wrong and how Wander has gotten the important things right. You can read the full Deeper Dive at Not Boring.
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