Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky: ‘I Never Called it Founder Mode’

Skift Take

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky gave a talk that led to some controversy in Silicon Valley. He clarified his thoughts in one area and doubled down in another.

Justin Dawes

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky believes that a lot of business leaders don’t understand their companies, and that’s a problem. 

Chesky spoke about the idea at an event hosted by the startup accelerator Y Combinator, and it was dubbed ‘founder mode’ in a blog post by Y Combinator co-founder Paul Graham.

It was immediately controversial: What about all the founders who failed to scale because they couldn’t give up control? Or the managers who took over and got the companies to the next level?

Chesky clarified his thinking at the Skift Global Forum in New York City this week: “The most important question isn’t, ‘Is the CEO the founder?’ It’s, ‘Does the CEO understand deeply, more than anybody else in the company, the product they sell?’ If I was running an ice cream company, then I as the CEO better understand ice cream better than anyone that works for me. If I’m running an airline, I better understand airplanes better that anyone who works for me. If I’m a fashion company, I better understand the clothing better than anyone.”

Chesky said he has modeled his leadership style after Steve Jobs, who brought Apple from the brink of bankruptcy in 1997.

He said he and other founders are advised to switch to “manager mode” as their companies grow. He described one philosophy that leaders should hire great people and empower them to do their job.

“I think that’s terrible leadership, and I don’t think Steve Jobs would have ever believed that,” Chesky said. “Walt Disney didn’t believe that. Elon Musk didn’t believe that. The point is this: Great leaders are in the details. That’s what founder mode is.” 

“I think that the CEO of the company should always be the chief product officer,” he said.

Chesky believes the term “founder mode” is part of the divisiveness behind the conversation. But he emphasized that he did not call it that, and that the leader doesn’t need to be a founder to have a founder’s mindset. 

“I never called it founder mode. I just described my experience,” he said.

He explained further:

• “Now, if I say I’m in all the details, it sounds like micromanagement. Who wants to work for a micromanager? Steve said that you have to be in the details of all the people’s work, and that he didn’t micromanage them. He partnered with them.”
• “I believe that my experience is something that every CEO, whether a founder or not, can do: Be in the details. You say, ‘Hire great people; let them do their job.’ How do you know they’re good if you’re not in the details?”
• “I think there’s a lot of leaders that don’t understand their business.” 

(Chesky also shared plans for adding new lines of business starting next year.)