and complete failures on the site, and I make fun of myself in company meetings
when I talk about those. Then I look at each group and say, “Hey, I’m
hoping every one of you—in addition to all the successful ideas you’ll come up
with—aren’t afraid to come up with some resounding failures.” You just want
the failure to cost you a couple of weeks, a month or two—it depends on the
industry—a small, fixed cost. It’s the old adage: if we’re not failing at something
on a regular basis, we’re just not trying...

every single department? Well, you tap out of your friends pretty quick; but
absolutely, go hire your friends.
As I advise other startups from time to time, if you find someone you like,
pay what it takes to get them to come to your company in options or in salary,
depending on the company’s stage. But getting the right people—especially in
that first dozen—is so much more important than getting the req filled.
Unfortunately that slows down the hiring process a lot, which slows your
growth a lot, which is how I circle...

we don’t have those either. So on the subject of hiring, I don’t look at a
head count budget when I think of hiring people. I wait until I see the need for
someone—when I can carve out a job description that’s 80 percent full on the
day someone starts—and that’s when I’ll open up a new req.
For receptionists and executive assistants, it’s something of a running joke
because, well, what are they going to do? Make travel plans for us? We already
know how to do that. Answer the phones? Well, I...

of chapter four is being the most popular travel site in the world