Caryn Seidman-Becker

And I think those two things create that free cash flow and optionality.

Look at Priceline.

They bought bookings and active.

Those were transformative acquisitions.

But you need the free cash flow or the balance sheet to be able to do those things.

And you need the management who has that foresight.

I also think you've got to be decently paranoid.

I prefer management teams that are humble, nose to the grindstone.

I used to tell our management teams when I was an investor, like, you should just lever up and buy back stock.

I don't know why you're not more levered.

The optimal capital structure is X.

When you run the business and you're responsible for all the employees and you're wanting to invest in the business or leave cash on the balance sheet for potential M&A or whatever, levering up doesn't necessarily feel like the great thing.

Free cash flow and the optionality it creates

allows you to think more clearly.

When COVID hit, that was a transformative time for Clear.

We took $20 million, which at the time was our marketing budget, to zero on February 26th or 25th.

We took our salaries to zero and we created a leave of absence plan for our ambassadors so that when it really happened on March 12th,

We were prepared and pivoted to creating health pass and connecting people to their test information and ultimately their vaccine information and connecting those data packets to professional sports leagues like the NHL so they could have the Stanley Cup, which they've never missed in all of their history, or to open table and resi for dinner reservations.

It allows you to be offensive, not defensive.

And that is a massive mindset shift.