Our growth primarily came from word of mouth and PR, as we focused on making sure customers loved our service.

To solve the chicken and egg problem of attracting guests and hosts simultaneously, we aimed to generate a lot of press, especially around high-profile events like the Democratic National Convention.

We grew our user base from 350 to 2500 through press coverage and word of mouth, targeting college campuses for further expansion.

Our marketing strategy initially relied on PR and organic growth, especially leveraging our unique owl mascot, which became a viral sensation.

With the Democratic National Convention approaching, we recognized a significant opportunity for our service, prompting us to refocus and build our new vision quickly.

When we launched in new cities, we hosted big launch events to pay respects to the local community and engage influential people.

We started with bloggers to gain initial press coverage, which eventually led to national media attention, helping us gain traction despite being in debt.

We chose not to spend money on marketing but focused on public relations, which resulted in significant media coverage, including an article in the Wall Street Journal.

In 2008, we gained significant media attention by being associated with both the Obama and Romney campaigns, which helped validate our product and attract customers.