LEGO, long-term, and the cockroaches

I read something yesterday mentioning LEGO and their exceptional rebound, 20 years after being near bankrupt when they were close to 1 billion dollars in debt. I instantly thought: they deserve their spot in the cockroaches page. Which then sent me back down the memory lane and their incredibly rich story.

Memory lane cause we spent a day at Legoland in The Hague last Xmas. The kids loved the place, obviously. Mathilde and I were disappointed but I'd say it's more because we were expected something more 'grandiose' - a la Disneyland - than just the space not being cool. It still reminded us countless hours of playing with bricks coming from our parents childhood. Our own kids are now crazy about it. I spent a few hours the other day building with them a 15-bedroom house for all their super-heroes toys.

A few month ago we spent a weekend at some very close friends house and the guy is still obsessed with LEGO. He got a whole collection of old cars, sport ones, the Millennium Falcon and other artefacts in his basement, proudly displayed next to his collection of wine. It's pretty impressive.

The incredibe story of Airbnb, and the cockroaches

I've been on Airbnb for more than a decade now. I just checked out, my profile is 11 years old, and I received my first review from a host in June 2013. I remember that stay vividly. Back then I was living in Singapore, and this was my first trip to Jakarta, Indonesia. As far as I remember, I've always been a fan of Airbnb. As a guest obviously; but later on as a host as well; and in between as a fellow entrepreneur.