James Jenkins-Yates — founder of the world’s largest Airbnb management company — went from a flat in Pimlico to 6,000 listings, £160M in host revenue, a Series A… and then lost it all to layoffs and COVID.In this uncut conversation he tells Enrico:• Why quitting UBS at 24 was worth the chaos  • The £30 k Tube-ad gamble that exploded growth overnight  • Raising VC money vs. building profitably (hard lessons)  • Layoffs, depression and rebuilding during the pandemic  • How Europe is falling behind on tech — and what founders must do0:00  Cold-open: why no one really gives an F3:00  Wall-Street banker to coding an Airbnb side-hustle8:30  Triples rent on 1 listing – the Airbnb light-bulb15:00 MVP landing page & first £20 k accelerator funding21:30 Tube-ad gamble → the “global domination” growth spurt30:00 Seed-round chaos, impostor syndrome & 40-person team38:30 Series A (£4 M) – scaling to 300 staff in 6 cities48:00 Burn-rate reality: October layoffs & mental crash57:00 £70 M rival Hostmaker rises… then implodes1:05:30 Buying Hostmaker for £250 k – fire-sale deal1:14:00 COVID wipes 95 % revenue – survival mode & furlough1:23:00 Rebuilding with a franchise-style “partnership” model1:31:00 Redefining success after near-bankruptcy1:38:00 UK–EU innovation gap, AI future & next startup bets1:44:00 Final advice to founders, sign-off🎧 Also available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and more.📍 Follow Enrico:Instagram – @enricomayorTikTok – @enricomayor💬 Drop your takeaway in the comments & don’t forget to Like & Subscribe.

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