Letter from Dan: Perspectives from a 20-Year Old Startup
8 august 2023
Dear friends, it is so good to be in touch with you again!
It has been quite a while since I wrote to our friends and partners around the world. I’ve been down in the weeds rebuilding post-pandemic, and it has been a fascinating experience. This newsletter – our first in a while – inspires me because it represents a bit of a rebirth and relaunch of Smiling Albino!
This past year we’ve been busy reassembling teams, reinvigorating ideas and processes, and reestablishing exactly what we’re trying to do. I joke to friends and team members alike that in fact we’ve been a “20-year-old startup” much of the past year.
Of course, like most businesses, we spent two years conserving, reducing, and creatively finding ways to survive when the global curtains of travel came down. Something I had not considered was the lingering effect of letting so many systems and processes go idle, abandoning some of the technology and infrastructure we once used. Subscriptions expire, tech tools don’t get updated, files disappear, and so on. Reassembling our adventure machine has been the long-awaited tonic we’ve wanted, and we’re doing it with fire in the belly.
The most exciting part of this rebuild is that we’re all asking the types of questions that matter most each day. What kind of company are we, and who do we want to be? What type of travel really matters to us, and what is going to impress our guests the most? What are the words that really define what we’re trying to do, and how can we be better? Who knows where we saved the warranty for the coffee machine, and so on?
These are the types of first questions you might find in a startup, with fiery-eyed entrepreneurs setting out to blaze new trails and do things differently. It reminds me of when Scott Coates (my co-founder) and I asked each other all the hard/fun/dreamy questions during the trench work and planning we did 20+ years ago and I realize we are not so far from our roots, and the whole mad process has been quite intoxicating (good to have the tonic in hand).
Not that I would ever choose to relive Covid again, but this rebirth has helped us align with our values and challenge them each day, such as being boldly different, adding value, and having fun. Most importantly, we’re challenging ourselves with daily reminders to rise to the expectations of our destiny: creating the very best and most unique travel experiences for you, our fabulous friends and partners.
So, while there is much to rebuild, and so many great new and existing team members to onboard, in many ways we are in the best place we’ve ever been. A little more gravitas, a little more muscular (lots of push-ups during Covid – did I mention my pecs?), focused, energized and hungry.
We are honored to have such fantastic clients: patient, inspiring and generous folks like yourselves pushing us to the next level. Smiling Albino‘s greatest days lie ahead. I thank you for being part of this journey.