The key advice provided to tech founders is to prioritize meeting and understanding their customers rather than solely focusing on coding through problems. Building rapport and having in-person conversations with early adopters is significantly more powerful in aligning the product with customer needs compared to online surveys or digital communication.
Joe Gebbia joins Jason to discuss the early days of Airbnb, gaining traction, persevering through the “no’s,” and functional design. (2:09) They also discuss gaining customer trust and Airbnb’s incredible COVID turnaround. (21:17) Joe wraps the show by breaking down his new venture, Samara. (45:05)
(0:00) Jason kicks off the show
(2:09) Airbnb’s first sign of traction
(9:05) Vanta - Get $1000 off your SOC 2 at https://vanta.com/twist
(10:04) Persevering through the “no’s,” and functional design
(19:48) Squarespace - Use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain at https://Squarespace.com/TWIST
(21:17) Gaining customer trust
(30:46) Lemon.io - Get 15% off your first 4 weeks of developer time at https://Lemon.io/twist
(32:17) Airbnb’s incredible COVID turnaround
(45:05) Joe’s new startup Samara
Check out: https://www.samara.com/backyard
FOLLOW Joe: https://twitter.com/jgebbia
FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis
FOLLOW Molly: https://twitter.com/mollywood