Recording of the Everything Marketplaces Group Chat #210 (4/14) with John Andrew Entwistle, who’s the Founder & CEO of Wander. Wander is a marketplace for luxury vacation rentals that offers hotel-level amenities and convenience. It’s a breakout marketplace that’s scaled to over 1,000 locations and they’ve also raised over $100M+ in capital from top investors like QED and Redpoint Ventures.
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0:04 Intro
‍1:01 John Andrew's background
‍4:44 The first steps for starting Wander
‍6:34 How Wander solved the cold start problem
‍9:04 The early strategy for owning supply
‍11:18 An overview of the Wander customer experience
‍15:10 How Wander is leveraging AI
‍18:07 Examples for how Wander is leveraging AI to improve operational efficiency
‍19:12 Growth & expansion for Wander
‍24:12 How Wander has raised $100M+ in capital from top investors
‍28:31 Tips for early-stage marketplace founders
‍30:37 Group Q&A on how Wander offers a concierge
‍34:07 Group Q&A in increasing repeat bookings
‍37:09 Group Q&A on creating a high NPS
‍38:06 Group Q&A on defensibility & raising capital for marketplaces in 2026
‍42:42 Group Q&A on network effects for Wander
‍45:32 Group Q&Q on how marketplaces can create an advantage outside of pricing
‍50:15 Parting marketplace advice
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John Andrew on Twitter/X: https://www.x.com/jaentwistle
John Andrew on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaentwistle
Wander: https://www.wander.com
Fabrice's blog: https://www.fabricegrinda.com
Mike (Yoroomie) on Twitter/X: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.x.com/yoroomie⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Mike (Yoroomie) on LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/yoroomie
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You can also find this group chat in audio format as an episode on our Everything Marketplaces podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also connect with marketplace founders & leaders from our group chats in the Everything Marketplaces community.