Kiki’s co-founder and CEO, Toby Thomas-Smith describes the beginning of unlocking a new way of living, the mistakes, the deliberate design decisions, growing up with Dyslexia and so much more
Oct 31, 2023
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Toby Thomas-Smith, Co-Founder of Kiki, discusses the mission to revolutionize living and connect by leveraging social ties. Topics include growing a community around subletting, early mistakes in New Zealand, intentional design decisions, and the global vision. The speaker also shares personal anecdotes, dyslexia struggles, and the impact of the platform on people's lives.
Building a strong community around the ethos of subletting is crucial for the success of a peer-to-peer subletting platform.
Understanding the pain points and needs of users and building trust among them is essential for creating a loyal community.
Prioritizing people over property and emphasizing connections and positive impact can revolutionize the home sharing industry and unchain people from high rent.
Deep dives
Building a Magnetic Community
The podcast episode features Toby Thomas Smith, co-founder of Keke, discussing the growth of their community. Through Keke, people can sublet their homes, and the focus is on building connections and empowering individuals. The story resonates as Toby shares anecdotes of people crying in his arms, grateful for the opportunity to see their loved ones without worrying about rent. The goal is to change lives and unchain people from the burden of rent. Keke has experienced ups and downs, including failed launches and a pivot from Easy Rent, but the insights gained have shaped their approach to growing their user base.
Rebelling against the Anti-Risk Mindset
Toby shares how his rebellious nature stemmed from his mother's risk-averse attitude. Growing up with a parent who feared risk instilled a drive in him to pursue entrepreneurship and take calculated risks. His father's outgoing nature and deep sense of curiosity also influenced him. Toby's upbringing and family dynamics played a role in shaping his entrepreneurial mindset.
Overcoming Dyslexia and Building Confidence
Toby shares his struggles with dyslexia, which went undiagnosed until later in his teenage years. Despite the challenges, he used his dyslexia as a catalyst for finding alternative solutions and thinking outside the box. This perseverance and resilience led him to build confidence and develop unique problem-solving skills. His experiences with dyslexia have shaped his entrepreneurial journey and taught him the importance of embracing one's differences.
The Power of Community and User-Centric Approach
Keke's success lies in its close connection to its users. The podcast highlights the importance of understanding the pain points and needs of users to address them effectively. Building trust and camaraderie among users through friend unlocks and exclusive access has been a key strategy in creating a loyal community. By prioritizing close relationships, Keke has been able to create an environment where users not only find a solution for their housing needs but also feel a sense of belonging and support.
Building Trust and Similarity in Home Sharing
One of the main insights from the podcast episode is the importance of building trust and similarity in the home sharing industry. The speaker highlights how platforms like Airbnb often only provide minimal information about guests, making it difficult for hosts to feel comfortable letting strangers into their homes. By focusing on creating a sense of similarity between hosts and guests, the podcast's product aims to build trust and make the home sharing experience more personal. Through manual matching and utilizing Instagram, the team behind the product realized that people feel more comfortable accepting guests who are similar to them or have mutual connections. Their goal is to help strangers quickly become friends of friends by offering a glimpse into each other's lives and emphasizing shared interests and backgrounds.
Prioritizing People Over Property
Another key point from the podcast episode is the importance of prioritizing people over property in the home sharing business. The speaker discusses how their focus shifted from solely considering the property to emphasizing the importance of the individuals involved in the home sharing experience. Instead of just focusing on the monetary aspect, they realized that the true value lies in the connections and positive impact that their service can create. By prioritizing people over property, the company aims to change the way a billion people live, unchaining them from the burdens of high rent and bringing happiness to their lives. The speaker also mentions the anti-short-term rental movement, highlighting the need for a more responsible and community-oriented approach to home sharing.
Unlocking a new way of living with Toby Thomas-Smith, Co-Founder of Kiki
Kiki is on a mission to revolutionise the way we live and connect. By leveraging the power of existing social ties, their unique peer-to-peer subletting platform enables users greater flexibility to travel, helping unlock new lifestyles, friendships and savings.
✅Growing a “cult-like” community around the ethos of subletting
✅Lessons from early mistakes launching in New Zealand
✅Launching in New York: Kiki’s global vision
Episode Highlights from Toby:
“If we can pull this off, we're gonna change how a billion people live, and unchain a billion people from their rent.”
“Stop trying to boil the whole ocean. Find one rock pool. Boil the hell out of that rock pool… Build an ocean of rock pools… That’s why we ended up pivoting from the whole of Sydney, just to Bondi.”
[In the app] “Every single thing you see is intentional. For example… the first thing we push is the name of the person whose place it is. Person. This is not fucking Bondi bubble pad. This is Jenny's home, you know, Jenny's actual home… it's about people, it's about the connection.”
“We've literally had people run up to me in the street, cry in my arms, because they got to see their grandma for the last time before she passed away. Because they were able to go back and see her because they didn’t have to pay rent while they were gone.”
“New York is literally in crisis, it couldn't be worse to be honest. You know, people are paying 2. 5 times more rent on average than people in Sydney.”
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