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The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan

112: The Crazy Origin Story of Couchsurfing.com with Casey Fenton

The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan

Nathan Chan

Marketing, Business, Entrepreneurship

4.8662 Ratings

🗓️ 5 October 2016

⏱️ 45 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Casey Fenton, like many of us in our 20s, wasn't entirely sure where he would go in life. Growing up in a small town in Maine, he started to think about this entire world that existed beyond the borders of his hometown, and all the experiences he had yet to have. One thing he knew for sure was that his small hometown wasn't going to be offering him any of the new experiences he was looking for. "That got me to start buying random plane tickets to anywhere in the world," he says. From there it was traveling from place to place, mingling with locals and getting a backstage pass to the world's greatest cities. It was then that Fenton formed an idea for a business that would end up spanning the globe. Today, Couchsurfing.com has more than 10 million members in over 20,000 cities around the world. When it launched in 2003, Couchsurfing was a revolutionary concept. It was one of the first businesses to truly harness the power of a sharing economy. Instead of spending money at hotels and backpacker hostels, travelers were instead offered a choice to stay in the homes of hospitable locals free of charge. Since then, Fenton's business model has been replicated a thousand times over by the likes of Uber and Airbnb, just to name a few. We had the chance to talk with Fenton about his entrepreneurial journey, starting with being a backpacker to becoming the founder of a multimillion-dollar company with a reach that spans every corner of the globe. In this interview you'll learn: How to go through the hardships of starting your own business How to figure out which tasks to delegate and which tasks you need to prioritize as a leader Tips on creating and maintaining a massive and engaged community How to build an international reputation that people trust The most powerful drivers that'll get you to scale your business & much more!

Transcript

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0:00.0

This is episode number 112 with Casey Fenton of the Founder Podcast.

0:06.1

What you need is thirst.

0:07.9

You need to be a thirsty human who is intent on learning.

0:11.9

It's a really fascinating exploration of human potential.

0:15.5

Now.

0:18.1

The Founder Podcast.

0:20.8

Even the greatest entrepreneurs had help. If you want to learn from the podcast. The Founder Podcast.

0:23.4

Even the greatest entrepreneurs had help.

0:28.7

If you want to learn from the most successful founders on the planet, you are in the right place.

0:36.0

Branson, Mark Cuban, Tony Robbins, Tim Ferriss, Arianna Huffington, Steve Case, Gary V, Sophia Amoroso, Barbara Corcoran, Damon John.

0:40.8

Learn from the greatest minds in business today with interviews hosted by Nathan Chan.

0:44.0

This is not your average entrepreneur podcast.

0:46.3

The Founder Podcast.

0:52.7

Hey guys.

0:57.8

Thank you so much for tuning in. Before we start today's episode, I just want to let you know that our goal at founder is to help entrepreneurs succeed however we can by giving

1:03.5

away high quality content in the form of interviews, blog posts, podcasts, YouTube videos,

1:09.6

you name it. We put out so much content to help you.

1:12.9

And another interesting project that we're working on right now is partnering with world-class

1:17.6

founders like Damon John, Alexa von Tobel, Greta Van Riel, and so many more to teach crucial

1:23.6

skills like negotiation, finance, e-commerce, and so much more.

1:29.8

So if you'd like to get access to these free trainings with founders like this,

1:34.7

which is 100% free, just go to founder.com forward slash free.

...

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