Navigating the intersection of design and business: a conversation with Airbnb’s Brian Chesky | Figma Blog
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky argues that design should shape business strategy, not merely product appearance. He describes how Airbnb drifted from its design-led origins as it grew, becoming fragmented, experiment-heavy, and less innovative. By reconnecting with the principles of Apple’s design renaissance, Chesky began reconsidering how the company should be organized and led. ## Pulling Airbnb Back from the Brink of Failure - Airbnb was founded by two designers and an engineer, challenging conventional views that designers do not start companies. - Its original philosophy was to bring design into the boardroom and create a product that felt distinctive and meaningful. - By late 2019, Chesky feared Airbnb had become unrecognizable: - The company had roughly 10 divisions, each with numerous subdivisions. - Product managers and A/B testing dominated decision-making. - More employees and projects produced fewer visible product changes while increasing costs. - Chesky believed he had lost the courage required for creative leadership and that conventional corporate practices had displaced Airbnb’s founding vision. - The timing was especially difficult because Airbnb was preparing for its IPO, making major organizational changes risky. ## Rediscovering Design-Led Leadership - During the 2019 holiday season, Chesky met Hiroki Asai, a former Apple creative director, and Jony Ive, Apple’s former design leader. - Their perspective reminded him of the design-centered culture Steve Jobs had established at Apple. - Chesky began exploring whether Airbnb could return to a similarly integrated model, where design and creative judgment played a central role in how the company operated. ## Design’s Place in Business - Chesky suggests that designers are rarely elevated to CEO roles because businesses tend to favor scientific, analytical, and operational methods. - Creative work requires conviction and risk-taking, qualities that can weaken as organizations become larger and more bureaucratic. - His experience led him to question whether standard corporate structures are compatible with maintaining a company’s original creative vision. The excerpt presents Chesky’s central lesson: sustained growth can dilute a company’s founding principles unless leaders deliberately preserve design, courage, and customer-centered decision-making at the heart of the business.
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