Business
Calvin successfully exited two businesses without raising dilutive equity funding before turning 28. While building them, he and his co-founders lived in China, South Africa, Mexico, and Chile for fun and geo-arbitrage. Calvin also tells an UNBELIEVABLE story about how he and his team ended up in jail in Beijing. Here, Calvin gives us a sense of what he’s learned, what works well for him currently at Trivago, and what he’d say to a younger version of himself. I found it really insightful. Very simple, but very powerful. I suggest listening to what he has to say. 0:01:34 – What happened between joining Start-Up Chile and selling the company to Trivago 0:03:58 – Getting contacted by Marriott 0:04:21 – Marketing their B2B concept by promoting their consumer-facing site 0:05:23 – Joining Trivago 0:06:16 – What it means to be a product owner at Trivago 0:11:32 – Small changes that have big impacts 0:12:30 – Calvin’s first experience launching a “losing” set of tests and shifting revenue down 3% 0:12:59 – Asymmetric risk & reward 0:17:25 – Game theory, OODA loops, Howard Marks, & connections to wrestling 0:23:10 – Important books: The 4-Hour Workweek, Traction, and biographies 0:26:15 – Valuable lessons from failure & doubt; importance of co-founder team 0:27:46 – Important skills: brutally honesty about your skill set, choosing what NOT to do, & transparency 0:31:20 – Important beliefs: forgiving yourself, focusing on what you did right, and making quick decisions 0:35:18 – What he would whisper to himself: you’ll make a lot of mistakes Review Strategy Chain at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/strategy-chain/id1492935567 Find Amazon affiliate links at http://strategychainpodcast.com/support Send me (Michael Roberson) questions at http://strategychainpodcast.com/contact Sign up for the email list at http://strategychainpodcast.com/ Social Media @strategychain (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Medium)