How I Got Here, episode 24 - Steve Hafner of Kayak

Steve Hafner, Co-founder and CEO

How I Got Here is a weekly podcast from PhocusWire and Mozio, getting the inside stories behind innovation and startups in travel and transportation.

 

Mozio's David Litwak and Kevin May from PhocusWire are joined by Steve Hafner, co-founder and CEO of Kayak, the Booking Holdings-owned and U.S.-based travel search engine.

 

When the definitive history of online travel is written in the decades to come, Steve Hafner will be remembered for many things.

It may well be for his signature and extremely direct style of commenting on the industry ("Hipmunk - road kill" being one of his most infamous) during countless appearances at travel events.

But hopefully the pivotal role he played alongside Paul English in the creation of Kayak will be his legacy.

After learning the travel business at Orbitz, Hafner met English and the company was formed in 2004 with a mission to get the widest array of air tickets as possible in front of users.

The rest is history (an IPO and then a sale to Booking Holdings for $1.8 billion in 2012), as the saying goes, but it's a fascinating example of determination and smart thinking that brought Kayak to where it is today.

Hafner is the latest guest on the How I Got Here podcast.   

HIGH is a weekly show produced by PhocusWire and Mozio, aimed at getting the inside stories behind startups and innovation in travel and transportation.

It's hosted by our editor in chief, Kevin May, and Mozio co-founder and CEO David Litwak.

A full transcript and additional analysis in 5+ languages is available on Mozio.com/move.

Here is the video version via PhocusWire's YouTube channel: