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Brian Chesky

12/01/15

@ Greylock

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.

Video

Blitzscaling 18: Brian Chesky on Launching Airbnb and the Challenges of Scale

@ Greylock

Blitzscaling 18: Brian Chesky on Launching Airbnb and the Challenges of Scale

12/01/15

Related Takeaways

Ron Conway

10/27/13

@ Y Combinator

In fundraising, securing a top-tier investor who adds value can be worth millions to your company's valuation, as seen with Airbnb's experience.

Joe Gebbia

06/07/17

@ Y Combinator

In the early days of Airbnb, we struggled to achieve product-market fit and faced significant challenges in getting people to adopt our service.

Joe Gebbia

06/07/17

@ Y Combinator

We faced challenges in raising funds due to the 'Stranger Danger' bias, which made investors hesitant about a business model involving strangers sharing homes.

Brian Chesky

06/02/24

@ The Social Radars Podcast

The transition from air beds to allowing entire homes to be rented was crucial for Airbnb's growth, transforming it from a niche idea to a billion-dollar company.

Dalton Caldwell

01/20/22

@ Y Combinator

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

Brian Chesky

06/02/24

@ The Social Radars Podcast

After struggling for a year to get the Airbnb marketplace going, we decided to apply to Y Combinator in the fall of 2008 as a last-ditch effort.

Michael Seibel

01/20/22

@ Y Combinator

Many founders and investors initially dismissed the ideas behind Airbnb, Coinbase, and Stripe as poor or overly ambitious, underestimating their potential.

Parker Conrad

01/11/25

@ Y Combinator

I pitched 75 investors for funding, but we faced rejection after rejection, which made me cynical about fundraising, especially during a time when no one was investing in consumer-driven businesses.

Brian Chesky

12/01/15

@ Greylock

By April 2009, we became Ramen profitable, which allowed us to secure a $600,000 investment from Sequoia Capital, marking a significant turning point for Airbnb.