on the line. I’m lucky that I have a wife who supports that. My headline [in his LinkedIn profile] is “ambassador to the future.” I try to pick things five to 10 years out and introduce the future to the present. It’s always technology that isn’t quite mainstream; it’s not even in most people’s minds just yet.
X: Tell me about your early influences.
HO: Probably my grandfather. He was a total rags-to-riches story in Mexico where you have a lot of class differences. He’s a stellar example in any society. The way he treated his people; it was the key to his success. It was about empowering people and, as a result, he did amazing things. He never treated us any differently than his gardeners at the hotel or cooks or his driver. I try to do the same as an entrepreneur and boss to many.
He also showed me a third category in being a leader. Being a great leader doesn’t mean you’re a great manager. He was an amazing leader and manager, and I still struggle with my ability to manage people versus lead them. Someone’s more likely to follow me off a cliff than enjoy a performance review; both are really different. I always work really hard to have great managers around me to execute the vision. Someone has to believe you can do the impossible.
X: If you got stranded on a desert island, what’s the one thing you would have to have with you?
HO: [My wife] Meredith and I could get out of anything. We’re both eternal optimists. I’m the lead that has the vision; she has got the steadfast work ethic and dedication to solving problems and it’s a really good combination.
X: What’s your favorite book? Or maybe one you’ve read recently?
HO: I don’t read. The world is my book. I’m spookily good at ingesting data in my environment, the input I get from the environment around me. I pick up on little queues, the tremendous information flows in my e-mail. I notice things others don’t notice. It strikes people as creepy, they say, ‘How did you know that?’ I say, ‘I picked up on the clues.’ I haven’t read a book in 15, 20 years. It’s an ADD thing.
I don’t believe in paper currency; everything is electronic.
X: What did your 25-year-old self know that you have forgotten?
HO: I think doing things with my hands. I used to love making things and taking things apart. The instant gratification of doing things with your hands and seeing them come to fruition. The world now is so virtual, the assets we collect so intangible. The businesses I build, you can’t really touch the servers. It’s so amorphous. I miss the days when it was a much more tangible approach to the world.
Really, if I think about it, I’d love to make my next startup something tangible: drones or robotics where you actually have that connection with materials and things. I love that and used to be great and do that stuff all the time. Now, it’s much more virtual.
