In 2007, I hosted three people at my apartment in San Francisco for a design conference, and that unique experience made me realize we were onto something with the idea for Airbnb.

A pivotal moment for Airbnb was realizing that hosts didn't need to be present for guests to rent an entire apartment, which expanded our business model significantly.

Airbnb's growth was driven by the viral nature of unique guest experiences, which people naturally share with friends.

We realized that if we could get enough people to use Airbnb, they would tell others about it, leading to organic growth.

The first guests at our Airbnb had a great experience, forming real relationships, which highlighted the potential of our platform to create connections between people.

The idea for Airbnb originated when my co-founders, Joe and Brian, decided to rent out their apartment to designers attending a conference, leading to the realization of a larger opportunity.

During a listening tour in New York City, I met with many critics of Airbnb, which helped reduce negative sentiment towards the company over time.

The 2008 mortgage crisis in New York contributed to the rise of Airbnb, as many people needed to rent out rooms to avoid foreclosure.

After our initial launch, we didn't see immediate success and even explored creating a roommate matching website before pivoting back to Airbnb.