243: Run Through Walls
Lucy Lieberman is a longtime digital innovator who has spent her career jumping into emerging technology before the rest of the market catches up — from early websites and streaming to loyalty platforms and AI-powered travel. She’s led digital transformation for brands like IHG, Amex, and FAO Schwartz, and she most recently served as CEO of Michelin Guide Hotels during one of the toughest moments in travel history. In this episode, recorded live at the Female Founders in Hospitality Summit in early March 2026, Susan and Lucy talk about positioning, pivots, and future-proofing.
What You’ll Learn:
• How to spot market shifts before everyone else
• How to tell the difference between “too early” and “bad idea”
• Why great tech still fails without behavior change
• When to build products people don’t know to ask for yet
• Why features and amenities never create loyalty
• How to turn a crowded category into a category of one
• Why to focus on problems instead of preferences
• What it’s like to lead a travel company through a crisis
• How to create a North Star teams can actually rally around
• Why luxury travel exploded after COVID
• Why authenticity keeps getting more valuable & the surprising comeback of analog
• Why you have to keep asking “why”
• How to become the kind of founder who can run through walls
The Takeaway:
Breakthrough companies win by obsessing over friction, unmet needs, emotional connection, and the “why” behind customer behavior — not by chasing technology, features, or trends for their own sake. Being early only matters if you’re solving a real problem people genuinely care about.