Traditional management techniques for scaling startups are fundamentally flawed and detrimental to founder-led success. This post highlights Brian Chesky's experience at Airbnb, where following conventional wisdom led to disastrous results, prompting him to develop a new approach. This new approach, "founder mode," is characterized by closer engagement with the company, even at the detail level, and a willingness to break conventional norms.

Ken Kocienda saw Steve Jobs and Brian Chesky work up close and found that they had few key similarities. They both had deep intuition, a tireless work ethic, an unwavering commitment to their vision, and a fantastic ability to effectively guide and empower their teams. At the same time, they had differences such as Steve Jobs advocating for leaving smart people alone, while Chesky believed that founders needed to be more in contact with the “lower levels” of the company.