In this episode, John Andrew Entwistle, founder & CEO, breaks down Wander’s explosive growth and recent $50M Series B round led by QED Investors and Fifth Wall, with support from Redpoint, Uncork, Starwood Capital, and Breyer Capital.

Wander is building the first vertically integrated platform in vacation rentals, targeting the $35B luxury short-term rental segment with over 1,000 homes, a best-in-class 85 NPS, and 35,000+ nights booked to date.

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TIMESTAMPS:

0:00 - John Andrew Entwistle Introduction

1:00 - Series B Benchmark: $5M–$15M ARR

3:32 - What is Wander?

5:20 - Maintaining a high NPS through various transitions

6:10 - The Unscalable Beginning

8:15 - Building the First Vacation Rental REIT

10:46 - Brex Sponsorship Break

11:48 - Market Size: $35B GMV in Top 5%

13:42 - Customer Experience Philosophy

17:00 - Solving the Marketplace Cold Start Problem

19:15 - Hardest Challenge: The 2022 Crisis

23:47 - Sourcing Premium Properties

25:30 - Favorite Properties and Hidden Gems

28:51 - B2B Opportunities

32:34 - The Technology Stack

36:18 - Founder Background

39:59 - Advice for Young Founders

41:37 - Staying Clear During Rapid Scaling

43:53 - Team Structure and Hiring

48:56 - Efficient Marketing and Operations

51:04 - Demand Generation Strategy

53:22 - Activation Over Growth

55:27 - Business Model Deep Dive

57:59 - Capital Raised: $100M+

1:00:13 - What to Look for in Investors

1:02:20 - Life Philosophy: The Four Rules

1:06:24 - Looking Forward

#podcast #investing #technology #venturecapital #entrepreneur #startup #siliconvalley