We're happy to welcome to the show John Brown, the CEO of Agoda, one of the world's largest online accommodation platforms. Headquartered in Singapore but with a large support office in Thailand, John explains how the company began and how it's grown. Greg and John also discuss what difficulties arise when trying to hire top-tier talent from around the world to come and work in Bangkok, a city not known as a hub of high-tech companies. How do they prove that the move is worth it, and what type of sales pitch on Bangkok do new staff get? John also discusses how Bangkok's vibrant local culture affects the culture of an office made up of many different nationalities, as well as the obvious question - what does Agoda do when things in Bangkok's boisterous political arena go a bit sideways? How does this negative news affect tourism in Thailand, and what measures can companies like Agoda take to compensate? As always, the podcast will continue to be 100% funded by listeners just like you who get some special swag from us. And we'll keep our Facebook, Twitter, and LINE accounts active so you can send us comments, questions, or whatever you want to share.