The Art of Building Without Borrowing
In 2017, a mysterious fire lookout appeared on Airbnb in the mountains of north Idaho, just an hour from where I lived. It booked almost solid for over a year almost instantly. I had no idea then that this creative restoration would inspire my own journey into experiential hospitality and the world of unique stays—or that I’d eventually call its creator, Kristie Wolfe, a good friend.
But her story began far from mountain peaks and viral airbnbs…
potato years
Kristie had grown up in southern Idaho, dropped out of high school, and spent a decade working in factories. At 30, she was making $12.50 an hour in a potato processing plant when a friend sent her an unusual job listing.
The Idaho Potato Commission needed a spokeswoman for their iconic 6-ton potato—a mobile marketing marvel funded by the 2 cents collected on every pound of potatoes sold from the state. Against the odds, she got the gig.
For over a year, she toured county fairs nationwide, living frugally and saving every penny of her $60/day per diem. She had a dream.
the $8,000 gamble
In 2012, while scrolling Craigslist during her potato tour, she spotted a craigslist ad that would change her life: half an acre in Hawaii for $8,000, seller-financed at $200 per month. She bought it sight unseen.
She sketched designs on napkins, bought an airplane ticket, and hacked through the Hawaiian jungle with a chainsaw. She built a treehouse, 16 feet up in the rainforest, all by herself in just four months. Her mom flew in to help out with the final couple weeks of construction
Total cost: $11,000.
She listed it on this new site called Airbnb, and within 2 months, it was fully booked. A youtuber’s viral video brought honeymooners in droves.
100 days after listing, the property had generated enough revenue to cover her entire investment. 🤯
hobbit house
A year later, emboldened by her Hawaiian success, Kristie found a bare lot in rural Washington. No road access, no utilities, and a building department so overwhelmed by a bad wildfire year they essentially said, “you can build whatever you want.”
She excavated into a hillside and carried every piece of lumber up the trail by hand. Three months and $50,000 later, she had created a hobbit house. She listed it at $400 a night, and it booked solid 18 months out.
Again—completely paid for itself in 100 days!
Kristie told me it was at this moment that she had her epiphany: people wanted one-of-a-kind experiences and would travel anywhere for them.
discovering a fire lookout
About a year after that, while scrolling a random online forum, she found a two-year-old post about an abandoned 1959 fire lookout tower in Idaho. The realtor had forgotten to re-list it after it had failed to sell. She called immediately.
For $67,000 (again, seller-financed), she bought the tower along with 13 acres of huckleberries and huge trees on top of a mountain (the property which caused me to discover Kristie eight years ago).
The renovation took four months of solo work. She sent a mailer to the nearest town miles away (population 300) and found the perfect couple to caretake. To solve winter access, she bought a 1964 snowcat on facebook marketplace and converted it into a cocoa bar on treads so guests could stay year-round.
the $750k gift
Five years after her potato tour, the mega hit arrived.
The potato commission was retiring their famous 6-ton potato for a newer, more roadworthy one. Kristie knew all the folks on the committee from her days criss-crossing the country and made a bold pitch: “let me turn it into an Airbnb.”
The old-school marketing guys rolled their eyes but agreed, gifting her both the potato (which had cost ~$750k to build based on my findings and estimates) and the trademark.
She hauled it to a 5-acre lot she’d bought near Boise, worked her magic inside, and added a grain silo for the bathroom next door. When she listed it, the internet exploded.
Drew Barrymore, The Today Show, corporate commercials, a World Cup ad, and a 22M-view youtube video all featured it. Even Brian Chesky, the Airbnb CEO/founder called her up (but that’s another story). They’re good friends to this day.
In the first week alone, the Potato Commission (with sophisticated ad spend tracking methods) estimated $2M of free press was generated!
the empire expands
Success didn’t slow Kristie down. She bought and fully restored a shipwreck house on a mountain lake, built a cocoon on the Oregon coast, and now is building her most ambitious project:
55 acres in Idaho featuring a fire lookout museum and a series of 30-foot stargazing towers. She crowdfunded $450,000 on indiegogo (without giving up any equity) by pre-selling 1,000 nights to eager future guests.
Twelve years after starting with a few thousands dollars and a jungle lot:
- 10+ unique properties across multiple states
- millions in real estate equity
- approximately $500k in annual revenue (expected to double with the opening of the current project)
The craziest fact of this whole story: Kristie has never taken a bank loan. Every build was funded by previous successes and done with her own hands, occasionally helped by her brother Sam.
From $12.50 an hour in a potato factory… to one of Airbnb’s most iconic portfolios.
And she’s just getting started.
Now if this story doesn’t inspire you to go do something, I don’t know what will…
You can find her full collection of properties here.
Have a great week, and I’ll catch you next Tuesday.
—Isaac