Brian Chesky - AI Founder Mode

**Patrick O'Shaughnessy** (0:00)
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**SPEAKER_2** (2:00)
Patrick O'Shaughnessy is the CEO of PositiveSum. All opinions expressed by Patrick and podcast guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinion of PositiveSum. This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions. Clients of PositiveSum may maintain positions in the securities discussed in this podcast. To learn more, visit p-s-u-m dot v-c.

**Patrick O'Shaughnessy** (2:27)
My guest today is Brian Chesky, the co-founder and CEO of Airbnb.
Our conversation traces the path from his early training as an industrial designer at RISD through the pandemic moment that forced him into founder mode. He explains what he calls AI founder mode and why it will demand even more attention to the details. He walks through his 11-star exercise, which I've used personally many times over the years, which is his way of imagining the most absurd version of customer experience as a path to product market fit. We talk about why founders are rarely good early CEOs, and what changed him when he stopped chasing adulation and started making things for the love of making them. Please enjoy this great conversation with Brian Chesky.
Before we hit go here, we were talking about industrial design, which you studied at RISD. I have this weird affinity for the history of this topic, just because Raymond Lowy, one of the famous industrial designers, helped me a lot in my career indirectly. I'd love to hear you just riff on the influence guys like him had in your early studies and why you studied that in the first place. Such an interesting background.

**Brian Chesky** (3:25)
I was an artist growing up, but I didn't know what to do with my life.
I went to the Rhode Island School of Design, and at RISD, when you're a freshman, you have to pick a major. I'm 17 years old, and I'm like, okay, in three months, I have to decide what I'm going to do the rest of my life.
I remember the department head for industrial design came. I never even heard the term industrial design. I don't know what it was.
They said industrial design is the design of everything from a toothbrush to a spaceship and everything in between. I immediately said, that's what I want to do with my life, because I was thinking of maybe being an architect or something like that. So I started learning about industrial design, and I learned about Charles Ray Eames, Raymond Loewy. Raymond Loewy, probably the most important industrial designer of the 20th century, designed so many incredible products. The first designer, Air Force One, he designed a lot of beautiful consumer products. He designed a lot of cars, and he had a profound impact, I think, on society.