The startup story of AirBnb is personally one of my favorites. The story is of a now very successful company that almost went bankrupt early on in its founding. But due to entrepreneurial thinking on behalf of its founders, the company was able to step things up and make improvements to make it the incredibly successful company it is today.
Back in 2007, Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia (AirBnB founders) were having trouble paying their rent and wanted to earn some extra cash. So they did what any young entrepreneur would do while living in NYC and noticing that most of the hotels were booked: they bout a couple of air mattresses and rented out space on their floor for $80 a night. Thus was the founding of “Air Bed and Breakfast” (the first iteration of AirBnb).
The company later gained a third co-founder, Nathan Blecharczyk, who was instrumental in relaunching the site in late 2008. The company looked to make a big splash with the Democratic National Convention, but only about 600 people utilized the site.
While brainstorming what could be wrong with the site, they noticed that all of the pictures on each listing were absolutely terrible. They immediately booked a flight to NYC to meet their users and to personally take more professional looking pictures. With this, they gradually begin to rebrand the site from shared spaces to all types of accommodation. In March 2009, AirBnB had 2500 listings and almost 10,000 users. It finally began to take off. Today, the rest is history.
Sources: https://getpaidforyourpad.com/blog/the-airbnb-founder-story/
It is amazing how a company can turn around and become so successful after they almost went bankrupt. I have used AirBnB in the past and will continue to because it offers convenience!
AirBnB is amazing and changes the way people travel and explore new places. It’s hard to believe that such successful businesses have rocky beginnings. It’s encouraging to hear that you can continue forward and one day be successful.
That is so interesting that the idea of “AirBnB” came from two guys looking for a way to use the resources they already had. Such a simple, yet innovative idea. The company’s decision to look that the customers input also seemed to help the company expand. As customer, the visual of the site tell a lot whether or not I would purchase a night.
What a great story. They saw the need when hotel rooms were booked and created an avenue to address it. Then, they pivoted and addressed the costumers needs! That’s a recipe for success.
I think that a great trait of any entrepreneurs is their ability to pivot constantly to be adapting to the always changing markets.
I never knew about this – its certainly a good story and a good example. Thanks for the post!
I am OBSESSED with airbnb! I personally believe this is one of the greatest entrepreneurial ideas of the generation. It seems like such a simple idea, but it changes lodging in a big way! As a user of Airbnb, I can honestly say I would rather stay in the comfort of a home, than at a hotel. Most times, it can be cheaper also!