Business
I’m the founder of a $1 billion travel unicorn. Here’s what growing up in hotel lobbies taught me about leadership
I never expected the hours I spent as a teenager behind hotel reception desks would one day help me build a $1 billion traveltech company. I learned in those lobbies that small details shape big outcomes, and that lesson still guides how I lead Mews, which now powers 12,500 properties in 85 countries.
Those nights weren’t glamorous; it wasn’t anything like Eloise at the Plaza. My family was entrepreneurial, and my summers were spent in half-built hotels or on graveyard shifts at reception. I would watch guests arrive, study their body language, and notice how a misplaced chair or a distracted glance could unravel an entire stay.
What looked trivial was, in fact, the system at work. And systems, I learned, shape people.
Details are strategy
In hospitality, every operational detail from the check-in flow to service rituals and even cutlery alignment becomes the difference between loyalty and churn. Leaders often overemphasize vision while neglecting those details. But these details are your strategy.
At Mews, the way we run one-on-ones, the clarity of our product roadmaps, even the rituals around code reviews — all of these things create the rhythm by which we scale. The lesson is simple: overlook the small stuff, and the big picture will eventually fall apart.
Friction creates memory
There’s a myth that frictionless design is always best. But I learned early that what makes an experience memorable is the anomaly: the unexpected kindness at reception, the thoughtful deviation from the script.
Technology, including AI, can and should automate repetitive work. But it cannot create the psychological safety that makes people speak up, take risks, or admit mistakes. Data shows that trust and psychological safety are the strongest drivers of adaptability. Efficiency clears the noise; leadership creates connection.
Growth is disorderly by nature
Hotel lobbies under construction were chaotic up close. Tools are scattered, processes are half-finished. But zoom out, and coherence emerged. Startups work the same way.
Scaling Mews to unicorn status hasn’t been neat. It’s a jumble of trade-offs, experiments, and rough edges. Leaders need the resilience to withstand that messiness while protecting the larger shape of the organization. Long-term success isn’t defined by smooth quarters but by the consistency of form across time.
Strong opinions, loosely held
Hotels trained me to obsess over precision, but also to adapt quickly. Perfectionism for its own sake doesn’t scale; respect for the craft does.
That’s why one of my core leadership principles is “strong opinions, loosely held.” Have a point of view, but be ready to change it with new evidence. Curiosity and humility aren’t soft skills. They’re tools that prevent leaders from mistaking surface calm for true stability.
Companies are organisms, not machines
I see companies less like machines and more like living organisms. Growth means absorbing new people, markets, and acquisitions while keeping your core intact. Like an amoeba, you need to be semi-permeable: flexible enough to absorb, but disciplined enough to preserve your coherence.
At Mews, that mindset has guided expansion. The question isn’t just whether an acquisition makes financial sense, but whether it strengthens the organism or threatens its integrity.
The energy test
In the end, what matters is simple: do people leave interactions with more energy than they entered with? That was true for a guest walking out of a lobby, and it’s true for an employee leaving a one-on-one today.
Valuations, dashboards, and product launches are chandeliers. They matter, but they’re not the foundation. Leadership is about building systems that let people feel more human, not less.
I learned that in lobbies long before I ever sat in boardrooms. And it’s the same lesson I carry now as the founder of a $1 billion company: protect the “why,” and design systems that outlast you.
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