We created a bed and breakfast for a design conference because we had no money for rent, leading to the birth of Airbnb.

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

Brian had a great experience staying at an Airbnb during the event, but there was a payment issue that made us realize the importance of handling transactions upfront.

Airbnb's founders initially launched the service to solve their own financial problem of making rent during a major conference in San Francisco.

We targeted major events like the Democratic National Convention and the World Cup to bootstrap our growth, focusing on PR and word of mouth.

We took out a credit card and set up meetings with potential investors, knowing that if we didn't raise money, we would have to shut down the company.

We raised both equity and debt to finance our operations, allowing us to provide landlords with cash upfront while maintaining a sustainable business model.

We faced challenges in raising funds, with many investors not responding or passing on Airbnb, claiming it didn't fit their investment thesis or that the travel market wasn't big enough, but we eventually secured a $1.5 million valuation for Airbnb.

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.