WiFi Tribe co-founder and CEO Diego Bejarano Gerke share his experience growing up in different countries around the world, his identity of being half Bolivian and half German, and what the concept of “home” means to him. He talks about why he thinks Bolivia is the most under-rated country in South America, what it’s like to spend time there, and what it means to him. He then shares the story of co-founding WiFi Tribe, explains what the term “Tribe” means to him, and describes the WiFi Tribe community. He explains how WiFi Tribe is actively attempting to diversify the program, how the community-wide value of “respect” is paramount, and describes the company’s feedback and redress mechanisms if any member feels unsafe or uncomfortable. Diego then shares his #1 tip for remaining productive as a nomad and explains how to create productivity anchors that remain constant across changing locations. He shares his morning routines, day structure, time-tracking techniques, and emphasizes the importance of noise-canceling headphones and daily ‘deep work’ sessions. He shares his tips on finding love as a nomad and maintaining location-independent relationships. And, finally, he takes us behind the scenes of running WiFi Tribe, explains how he manages a fully-distributed staff, and which marketing techniques are currently most effective for the company. He also clarifies how the WiFi Tribe interview process works for participants, describes the ‘chapter selection’ process for members to curate their own itinerary, and explains the virtual Slack Community. FULL SHOWNOTES AVAILABLE AT www.MaverickInvestorGroup.com
Episode #74: WiFi Tribe Co-Founder Diego Bejarano Gerke on the Magic of Bolivia, Creating Productivity Anchors and Re-Defining “Home”
Episode Summary
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About the Guest
Diego Bejarano Gerke
Diego Bejarano Gerke is the co-founder and CEO of WiFi Tribe, a close-knit work-and-travel community of entrepreneurs, freelance consultants, and remote professionals that slow-travel the world together while working online. The community currently has 800 members from 50 different nationalities, who join WiFi Tribe’s coliving houses for a month at a time in 40 cities across the world. When you join WiFi Tribe, you get to choose how many month-long “chapters” you want to participate in during the year, pick and choose your locations from multiple concurrent options, hop between continents if you want, and curate your own custom itinerary. The group size of each chapter is usually 12-25 people who have all been brought together based on shared values. Diego personally interviewed over 1,000 remote professionals to form the WiFi Tribe community, he has lived in 23 countries in the last 4 years alone and he speaks 5 languages.
What You'll Learn
- How to create productivity anchors that are consistent across different locations.
- How to re-conceptualize the meaning of “home” and “tribe”.
- Why Diego thinks Bolivia is the most under-rated country in South America.
Links From the Episode
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CHECK OUT THE WIFI TRIBE EXPEDITION
(Get a $100 discount on your FIRST WiFi Tribe Chapter)
TRAVEL COMMUNITY MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
- Remote Year (Use this link to get a $100 discount on Remote Year)
#1 BOOK DIEGO RECOMMENDS
BOOK MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
#1 APP DIEGO RECOMMENDS
APP MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
#1 PERSON WITH WHOM DIEGO WOULD MOST LIKE TO HAVE DINNER
DIEGO’S TOP 3 FAVORITE TRAVEL DESTINATIONS
TOP 3 BUCKET LIST DESTINATIONS
PLACESWHERE THE INTERVIEW TOOK PLACE
OTHER PLACES MENTIONED
CHECK FLIGHT PRICES TO ANY OF THESE LOCATIONS
CONTACT DIEGO
Time Stamped Show Notes
[3:09] Diego’s Upbringing and Concept of “Home”
- Living in different international countries as a kid
- What “Home” means to Diego
[7:28] Diego’s connection with Bolivia
- What Bolivia means to Diego
- Why Bolivia is so underrated
- Matt’s travel experiences in Bolivia
- Salt Flats, Cable Cars, Street Art and Epic Landscapes
- Mountain Biking The World’s Most Dangerous Road
[16:27] Founding WiFi Tribe
- How and Why Diego co-founded Wifi Tribe
- Starting a group travel experience in Bolivia
- Using Facebook ads to grow the company
[22:58] What the word “Tribe” means to Diego
[26:50] Describing the WiFi Tribe Community
- WiFi Tribe community values
- Who WiFi Tribe is right for
- What types of people participate in WiFi Tribe
- Attracting a diversity of professions
[29:51] Discussing WiFi Tribe’s “Diversity”
- Why WiFi Tribe values diversity
- How WiFi Tribe is actively attempting to diversify the program
- Prioritizing the value of “respect”
- How WiFi Tribe addresses any disrespectful behavior by a community member
- WiFi Tribe’s feedback and redress mechanisms if anyone feels unsafe or uncomfortable
[36:14] Diego’s Tips on Optimizing and Balancing an Itinerant Work-Travel Lifestyle
- Diego’s #1 Tip for being productive as a nomad
- Creating “anchors” that are consistent across environments and locations
- Diego’s morning routine
- Diego’s day structure and productivity techniques while nomading
- Deep work vs. Shallow work
- Time-tracking and categorizing tasks
[43:18] Location-Independent Relationships and Finding Love as a Nomad
- Diego’s Tips on Finding location-independent relationship partners
- Nomad Soulmates App
- Volume of People and Depth of connections
[45:55] Behind the Scenes of Running WiFi Tribe
- How Diego manages an internationally distributed team
- Meeting times and communication structure
- The importance of in-person team meetings
- The most effective marketing techniques currently working for WiFi Tribe
[52:38] Process for Joining WiFi Tribe
- Interview Process for WiFi Tribe
- Choosing your ‘chapters’ and curating your itinerary
- The virtual WiFi Tribe Slack community
- Meetups outside of Chapters
[57:00] LIGHTNING ROUND
- #1 Book that Diego Recommends
- #1 App that Diego Recommends
- #1 Travel Hack that Diego Use
- #1 Person with whom Diego would most like to have dinner
- The advice Diego would give to his 18-year-old self
- Diego’s Top 3 Favorite Travel Destinations
- Diego’s Top 3 Bucket List Destinations
[1:00:05] CONTACT DIEGO AND GET A DISCOUNT ON JOINING WIFI TRIBE
- Follow WiFi Tribe on Diego
- Get a $100 Discount on Your First WiFi Tribe Chapter
