Before
For almost 20 years at Google, my job was making big, complicated things go right.
Managing projects with a thousand moving parts. Nothing left to chance.
After hours
My nights and weekends went to a different kind of project: making sure the little time we had away as a family was extraordinary, not average.
The lagoon
Years ago, a longtail boat took us through the Phi Phi islands to a hidden lagoon with white sand and water so blue it looked edited. We were the only ones there. Everyone else was lined up at a viral beach for the same photo they’d seen on Instagram.
That wasn’t luck.
It was hours of reading, cross-checking, and asking the right people the right questions, the same way I’d attack any problem at work.
Since then
Sometimes it’s a place no one else has found. Sometimes it’s the best seat at something everyone wants to see.
- Australia
A swimming hole deep in the rainforest where my kids had the water to themselves.
- Las Vegas
A five-seat chef’s table, so exclusive it took months to get in.
- Switzerland
A hike above Wengen, a car-free village reachable only by train.
- Outside Rome
A truffle hunt that ended with a six-course meal in our guide’s home.
- Opening night
Side-stage for the first night of Harry Styles’ Love On Tour.
What I noticed
Somewhere along the way I noticed something. People like us, with kids, busy careers, and the means to go anywhere, mostly end up with the same version of the trip as everyone else.
Not because they lack taste. Because they lack time.
Finding the rare version of a trip takes hours most people don’t have. I have the obsession for it. I’ve been doing it my whole life.
So
I started Longtail.
Every detail, found. Just go.