How I Built This with Guy Raz

KAYAK: Paul English

Sep 27, 2021

Paul English, a serial entrepreneur and co-founder of KAYAK, shares his fascinating journey from childhood challenges to building a travel empire. He recounts the spontaneous moment that sparked KAYAK's creation over drinks with co-founder Steve Hafner. Paul discusses the innovative partnerships that set KAYAK apart in the competitive travel space and reflects on the importance of personal growth and mental health in entrepreneurship. With stories of conflict, creativity, and the unexpected popularity of their brand name, his insights are both entertaining and inspiring.

01:12:13

Episode guests

Paul English

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Intro

3min

The Journey of Building a Travel Empire

6min

Reflections on Childhood and Career Journey

18min

Conflict Over Compensation in a Startup Environment

2min

Founding an E-commerce Venture from Scratch

4min

From E-Commerce Skepticism to Success

16min

The Creative Journey Behind the Name Kayak

2min

The Birth of Kayak: Overcoming Initial Backlash and Unexpected Popularity

3min

Kayak's Journey: Innovation and Growth

21min

10.

The Interplay of Hard Work, Creativity, and Luck in Success

2min

11.

Insights from the Driver's Seat: A Unique Approach to Customer Service

4min

Paul English is a perpetual founder. Since high school, he's started 3 philanthropies and 8 companies—ranging from e-commerce, to gaming, to GetHuman, a site that helps users access human customer support. His best-known venture is probably KAYAK, a travel website launched in 2004 over two gin-and-tonics with co-founder Steve Hafner. Using a simple interface, KAYAK specialized in search; and it made partners out of potential rivals like Orbitz and Expedia by charging them a fee to send users to their sites. Eventually KAYAK became one of the most-searched "K" words on Google, and in 2012, it sold to Priceline for $1.8 billion. A few years later, Paul started yet another company, Lola.com—and says he plans to launch many more. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts

Save insights instantly, chat with episodes, and build lasting knowledge - all powered by AI.