Airbnb is one of Silicon Valley’s most recognizable success stories, valued at nearly $79 billion and employing over 7,300 people worldwide. Yet, its co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky says he manages the company with the mindset of a startup founder rather than a corporate executive.
Speaking on the Social Radars podcast, Chesky revealed that he still takes an unusually close role in managing around 50 employees. Instead of leaving hiring and performance reviews solely to senior executives, he gets directly involved in evaluating whether people are the right fit, co-hiring staff, and deciding on promotions or exits.
Chesky acknowledged this is not the standard practice for someone leading a company of Airbnb’s size, but he believes it’s essential to keep the business sharp and aligned with its vision.
Rejecting Traditional Corporate Wisdom
Conventional leadership advice for CEOs is to assemble a strong executive team, delegate authority, and step back. Chesky sees things differently. He argues that being too distant from employees risks losing sight of the company’s culture and long-term direction.
For him, maintaining direct connections across different levels of the company allows him to see firsthand whether leadership is effective. It also ensures he remains connected to the company’s day-to-day energy and purpose. In his view, the founder’s role is to continuously set the pace, define the vision, and actively shape how the company operates.
Birth of the ‘Founder Mode’ Approach
Chesky’s philosophy, often described as “founder mode,” emerged after a critical turning point in Airbnb’s growth. In its earlier years, he followed the advice of business mentors who encouraged him to let experienced executives take over as the company matured. The experiment backfired, leaving the company less agile and more bureaucratic.
The realization led Chesky to reassert himself more directly in decision-making. The concept of “founder mode” was later popularized by Paul Graham, the co-founder of startup accelerator Y Combinator, who praised Chesky’s determination to preserve the spirit of an early-stage startup even inside a global corporation.
Why Agility Matters in the AI Era
Chesky has since tied his leadership style to broader changes in the business landscape. He argues that the rise of artificial intelligence is reshaping industries so quickly that companies can no longer afford slow, hierarchical decision-making.
In an interview on The Verge’s Decoder podcast, he said traditional, professionally managed corporations often move too slowly to adapt to technological disruption. By contrast, companies operating in “founder mode” can react with the same agility as startups, which he sees as crucial for survival in today’s AI-driven economy.
A Hard Lesson From the Pandemic
Airbnb’s adoption of “founder mode” also reflects hard lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, global lockdowns caused a sudden 72% collapse in revenue, forcing the company to lay off about 25% of its workforce.
During that crisis, Chesky turned to longtime friend and Apple’s former design chief Jony Ive for advice. Ive emphasized that leaders should guide people through the work itself rather than through layers of management. Inspired by this, Chesky streamlined Airbnb’s structure, removing unnecessary levels of bureaucracy and placing greater emphasis on creativity and execution.
The approach echoed the management philosophy of Steve Jobs, who believed in staying deeply connected to the work rather than relying too heavily on middle management.
Other Leaders Share Similar Views
Chesky is not alone in embracing this hands-on leadership style. At Duolingo, a language-learning platform worth about $15 billion, CEO Luis von Ahn has said he maintains direct visibility across nearly all aspects of the company. Other leaders at Duolingo, including senior design and product executives, also practice a close involvement approach.
This suggests a broader shift among tech leaders who see rigid management structures as outdated. For fast-moving industries, they believe a startup-inspired approach is better suited to staying innovative.
Balancing Scale With Startup Spirit
The challenge for Chesky is sustaining this founder-driven model while managing a company that operates globally and serves millions of customers. He admits the level of personal involvement requires significant time and energy, but he frames it as a deliberate investment in keeping Airbnb nimble.
For Chesky, this is not simply a question of management efficiency but of culture. By staying closely involved with teams and decisions, he ensures Airbnb doesn’t lose the entrepreneurial spirit that fueled its rise. He sees it as a safeguard against stagnation, even as the company continues to scale.
