While many CEOs choose to stay out of the public eye during times of crisis, Airbnb CEO and co-founder Brian Chesky has always opted for the opposite. It was no different during the Covid-19 pandemic, when travel came to a standstill and the company was forced to restructure. Chesky remained open, candid and transparent throughout the experience, and the company was able to navigate the crisis in stride.

As part of Greylock's virtual speaker series Iconversations, Chesky joined Greylock partner Reid Hoffman to talk about how he guided Airbnb from an 80% loss within the first two months of the pandemic to a record-breaking IPO by the end of year; why Silicon Valley needs to redefine how it measures growth; how Chesky’s design background informs Airbnb’s business strategy; and, ultimately, the importance of putting people first.

You can read the essay and transcript of this interview here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/airbn...

Chapters
0:00 Introduction
2:22 Stakeholder Capitalism
8:50 Identifying the Stakeholders
16:08 Responding to Crises
27:35 Maintaining Morale
31:26 Staying True to Stakeholder Capitalism
35:29 Making Difficult Decisions
39:33 Taking Action During a Crisis
44:00 Evolving Regulation
48:04 What’s Next for Airbnb
49:30 Lightning Round