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05 July 2022

Sanchan Saxena (VP of Product at Coinbase) on the inside story of how Airbnb made it through Covid; what he’s learned from Brian Chesky, Brian Armstrong, and Kevin Systrom; much more

7Frameworks
6Insights

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Frameworks in this episode

Innovation5 steps

15-out-of-10 Lovable Product

Design the unconstrained ideal in one place, then scale only what proves valuable.

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Leadership6 steps

Content-First Leadership Hiring

Test what candidates would do, not how fluently they describe a process.

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Leadership6 steps

DRI Rapid Decision Method

Give one owner written input, a final call, and committed champions.

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Strategy6 steps

Intentionality Before Experimentation

Set the product destination first, then use experiments to find the route.

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Mindset5 steps

Little Bets and Rapid Recovery

Act on a small bet, learn quickly, and recover before failure becomes expensive.

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Self-Mastery5 steps

Starter-to-Scaler Learning Map

Choose a company by the operating muscle you need to build next.

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Leadership6 steps

Two-Week Crisis Operating Cycle

Shorten the horizon, unify the company, and reset priorities every two weeks.

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Insights & moments

The myth-busts, hot takes, explainers, and tools worth keeping.

Hot Take· 1

Hot Take

The Path From Web2 to Web3 Must Pass Through Web2.5

Saxena rejects criticism that judges Web3's future ideals only by its imperfect present. He argues that technology moves through transitional versions, so today's partly centralized products can still be steps toward decentralization. The people best suited to build in the space can see the potential beyond current constraints while doing the practical work of moving present systems toward the ideal.

  • A direct jump from Web2 infrastructure to fully decentralized Web3 is unrealistic.
  • Many current products are transitional Web2.5 or Web2.7 systems.
  • Present limitations do not by themselves disprove the longer-term ideal.
  • Successful builders combine belief in the future with willingness to improve today's imperfect systems.

“the path to web 3 goes and from web 2 to web 3 goes through web 2.5. It doesn't go straight from web 2 to…”

Sanchan Saxena

“the people who will thrive most are people who understand those ideals, understand the future, and are builders”

Sanchan Saxena
#web3#web2#decentralization#technology-adoption

Explainer· 1

Explainer

Airbnb's Real Product Is the Memory, Not the App

Saxena says Airbnb taught him to distinguish the software interface from the product customers actually buy. The app and website enable a real-world outcome: time in a home and memories with family or friends. Designing that kind of product requires software, operations, and the physical experience to work as one system.

  • The app is a means to an end rather than the complete Airbnb product.
  • The customer outcome is the real-world memory created in the stay.
  • Product leaders must integrate software, operations, and physical delivery.
  • Real-world products demand different thinking from pure software products.

“The product of Airbnb isn't the app, it is a means to an end.”

Sanchan Saxena

“The product of Airbnb is the memories you're gonna create when you sit in that Airbnb beautiful house with your family, with your friends, and…”

Sanchan Saxena
#airbnb#product-thinking#customer-outcomes#service-design

Story· 3

Story

Airbnb Went From an IPO Plan to Survival in Six Weeks

Saxena recalls Airbnb preparing to go public as COVID-19 drove travel toward zero country by country. Within weeks, the company shifted from confidence in its cash position to laying off 1,900 employees, raising $2 billion in debt, and accepting a sharply lower valuation. The story makes the human cost concrete: Saxena had to dismiss 190 people from his organization over Zoom even though the crisis was not their fault.

  • Airbnb was preparing an IPO roadshow when global travel began shutting down.
  • The company moved from apparent financial strength to emergency survival measures within weeks.
  • Airbnb laid off 1,900 employees and raised $2 billion in debt.
  • Saxena had to let 190 people in his organization go remotely.

“Six weeks later, we're figuring out, damn, how do we make this company survive?”

Sanchan Saxena

“I had to let go of people over Zoom. I couldn't even meet them in person.”

Sanchan Saxena
#airbnb#covid-19#layoffs#crisis
Story

The Pandemic Advantage Airbnb Found Against Hotels

During the travel collapse, Airbnb reassessed how its homes differed from hotels under pandemic conditions. A standalone home let a family avoid shared hotel lobbies and breathe air confined to their own group. That insight changed Airbnb's marketing and messaging around safety at a moment when the old travel proposition no longer fit customer concerns.

  • Airbnb revisited its competitive advantage as customer safety needs changed.
  • Standalone homes reduced exposure to shared spaces such as hotel lobbies.
  • The product's physical configuration created a new reason to choose it.
  • Marketing pivoted to communicate the newly relevant advantage.

“being in an Airbnb where the air you breathe is only you and your family turned out to be a huge secret sauce to compete.”

Sanchan Saxena

“So we pivoted our marketing as well and messaging as well.”

Sanchan Saxena
#airbnb#positioning#hotels#pandemic
Story

The First Manager Who Changed Saxena's Career

Asked about his favorite manager, Saxena names Sashi, his first manager at Microsoft. What mattered was not a management technique but the decision to believe in and invest in someone just out of college. Saxena generalizes the experience: successful people often remember a point when another person backed their potential before it was established.

  • Sashi was Saxena's first manager at Microsoft.
  • The manager's belief helped change the trajectory of Saxena's life.
  • Investment in an early-career person can matter before their ability is proven.
  • Saxena sees this kind of sponsorship as common in successful careers.

“The most important thing was he invested in me.”

Sanchan Saxena

“at some point in their time in their life, somebody believed in them and somebody invested in them.”

Sanchan Saxena
#management#mentorship#career-growth#microsoft

Takeaway· 1

Takeaway

Coinbase Starts Big Bets With Tiny Teams

Coinbase responds to Web3 uncertainty by pairing ambitious bets with very small teams that can move quickly. Saxena says Coinbase NFT began with five people: one product manager, one designer, and three engineers. The team grows only as it finds product-market fit, limiting the initial commitment without shrinking the ambition.

  • Coinbase pursues large opportunities while keeping initial teams small.
  • Tiny teams can move faster in an industry with little settled expertise.
  • Coinbase NFT started with one PM, one designer, and three engineers.
  • Headcount expands after the product begins finding product-market fit.

“So the culture of Coinbase is to take big bold bets, get started with very tiny teams, you know.”

Sanchan Saxena

“The Coinbase NFT marketplace that we just launched, it started with five people.”

Sanchan Saxena
#coinbase#small-teams#web3#product-development