Andres Sarrazola, Ayenda | Becoming a Learning Machine to Grow as a CEO [Ep. 50]

The audio and video are in Spanish. These notes are a translation.

If there is one thing that sets the best founders apart, it is not their ability to code, sell, or recruit (which of course are important), but their ability to learn fast. That is why today we spoke with Andres Sarrazola, CEO and cofounder of Ayenda, whom his colleagues describe as a learning machine and a book guru.

Ayenda is the largest low-cost hotel chain in Latin America. To date, it has more than 400 hotels in Mexico, Colombia, and Peru. It has also raised 20 million dollars from venture capital funds such as Softbank, Kaszek, and Dalus Capital.

Andres told us what his evolution has been like, from leading a small team to being CEO of more than 200 people, what role reading has played in his personal growth so he can adapt to the stage his company is going through, and how he has built a strong culture of learning and professional development inside Ayenda.

I want to thank Christian Gómez of Ayenda, Christian Aguirre of Dalus Capital, and Santiago Zavala of 500 Startups for the excellent question recommendations.

What You Can Learn Today

Recommendations for facing the challenges of being a CEO
The hiring process at different stages of a startup
Creating and managing culture inside a startup

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Youtube Timestamps*

Competition Management at Ayenda

[1:22] - How did Andres get into the world of startups?
- Early years and university contacts
- Digital marketing agency
[3:11] - What is Ayenda?
- Traditional model for operating hotels
- Conversion franchise model
- Converting properties into chain hotels in 10 days
- Scalability and the potential of the technology
[6:46] - Differences in how Ayenda operates
- Iterative pricing strategy vs static rates
- Use of a Property Management Software
[10:04] - What was his assessment of Oyo’s entry into Latin America, and what was his reaction in terms of strategy and execution?
- A hotel market large enough
- Focus on different countries
- Oyo as a reference
- Oyo’s exit from Mexico and educating the market
[13:03] - Measures taken in response to COVID that let them persist, unlike Oyo
- Differences in expense control
- Base markets vs subsequent markets
- Lessons during the pandemic

Evolution as a CEO and Founder

[15:29] - Secrets for learning about different topics quickly
- Searching for information
- Focus on knowing what stage Ayenda is in
- Common factors across different sources
- The importance of curiosity without thinking about the benefit
[19:49] - How does he identify the challenges coming for Ayenda?
- Lack of experience
- New challenges as mini emergencies
- The need to optimize processes
[23:00] - How does Andres anticipate the challenges he will face?
- Experience from advisors and books
- Applying what he has learned, and the differences between theory and practice
[24:37] - Upcoming challenges and how he is preparing for them
- CEO role vs founder role
- Strategic delegation of tasks
- Changes in the roles needed depending on the stage
[27:30] - How does he approach the coach role?
- Reversible vs irreversible decisions
- Enabling contacts and tools
[29:35] - Book recommendations for each stage of a startup
- Reading 4 books during the trial period at Ayenda
- Alejandría, a reading club inside Ayenda
- Raising capital: Venture Deals and Secrets of Sand Hill Road
- Other people’s experiences: Startup CEO, Hit Refresh, and The Ride of a Lifetime
- Scalability: Blitzscaling, Scaling Up, and Working Backwards
- Culture: The Culture Code, How Google Works, and Trillion Dollar Coach

Talent and Culture at Ayenda

[34:03] - What does Andres look for in people, and what does Ayenda genuinely do differently from other startups when it comes to attracting talent?
- Building the profiles
- Designing the interview, reference, and case process
- The importance of talent for building a great company from the start
- Hiring extraordinary people
[36:57] - How has Ayenda’s hiring process evolved from the beginning to now?
- Involvement in the process for the first 70 people on the team
- The impact of hiring the right person on the company
- The importance of being thorough in the process
[38:58] - Competition among companies for the best talent
- An advantage for companies with a good culture
- Competition focused on culture vs economic benefit
- The Google case
[41:42] - Hiring fast, firing faster
- Hiring fast is a time bomb
- Balance between opportunities for the person and consequences for the company
[43:24] - How is his belief in the power of reading reflected in Ayenda’s culture?
- Consistency with the founders’ real values
- Avoiding a “vanilla” culture
- GETS (Great Listeners, Extreme Owner, Trust Builders, Super Improvers)
- Alignment of the values across the whole team
[47:25] - How did they lay the foundations for developing Ayenda’s culture?
- Focus on cultural fit vs professional fit
- A dynamic culture
- Data-driven and a love of debate
- Frameworks for each culture strategy
[50:39] - How did Andres become so deeply interested in organizational culture?
- Choosing books
- Culture as a vehicle for making the company work
- A vision of building a 100-year company

Tweet Round

[54:18] -
- Recommended book: The Obstacle Is the Way, by Ryan Holiday
- Recommended reggaeton song: Vacaxiones, by Feid
- Changes in the Latin American startup ecosystem: more resources to solve the problems
- Founder to interview: José Calderón, of Robinfood

Episode Mentions

You can find Andres on LinkedIn and Twitter

Recommended books: The Obstacle Is the Way, by Ryan Holiday

Raising capital: Venture Deals, by Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson, Secrets of Sand Hill Road, by Scott Kupor

Other people’s experiences: Startup CEO, by Matt Blumberg, Hit Refresh, by Satya Nadella, The Ride of a Lifetime, by Robert Iger

Scalability: Blitzscaling, by Reid Hoffman and Chris Yeh, Scaling Up, by Verne Harnish, Working Backwards, by Colin Bryar and Bill Carr

Culture: The Culture Code, by Daniel Coyle, How Google Works, by Eric Schmidt and Jonathan Rosenberg, Trillion Dollar Coach, by Eric Schmidt, Jonathan Rosenberg, and Alan Eagle

Talent: Who, by Geoff Smart, Topgrading, by Brad and Geoff Smart, Hiring and Firing, Brian Tracy, No Rules Rules, by Reed Hastings and Erin Meyer, Built to Last, by Jim Collins and Jerry I. Porras, Great by Choice, by Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen