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DIVYANSHU MHATRE

Work on your ideas • 1y

In the early days of Airbnb, founders Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia, and Nathan Blecharczyk struggled to find investors. They tried to raise $150,000 for 10% of the company but faced many rejections. Despite pitching to several prominent investors, no one was interested. One famous story is that they were turned down by seven Silicon Valley investors who couldn't see the potential in renting out homes to strangers. Eventually, they got a break with Y Combinator, which gave them $20,000 in seed funding. This initial support helped them refine their business and led to Airbnb's growth into a multi-billion dollar company.

6 Replies

Replies (6)

Anonymous 6

Hey I am on Medial • 1y

This just proves that sometimes the best ideas come from outside the industry 'experts.' Those Airbnb guys had a fresh perspective that the VC crowd was too blinded to appreciate.

Anonymous 5

Hey I am on Medial • 1y

I can totally relate to the struggle of getting investors on board. It takes serious grit and perseverance to keep going when everyone is telling you your idea is stupid. Yaha pe koi sense nahi hoti agar koi airbnb jaisa kuch ban bhi jaata, can you imagine how difficult would it be doing it here.

Anonymous 4

Hey I am on Medial • 1y

Honestly, I'm not surprised they struggled at first. The idea of letting strangers crash at your place does seem a bit sketchy on paper. Thank goodness they stuck with it and made it work, to a level where every $1500 spent around the world, AirbnB has a share in it.

Anonymous 3

Hey I am on Medial • 1y

an we stop acting like the Airbnb guys were underdogs or something? They were already fairly well-off dudes from prestigious schools. Let's not pretend this was some heartwarming tale of adversity.

Anonymous 2

Hey I am on Medial • 1y

I dunno, maybe those VCs were onto something. Letting randos into your house is still a huge risk, even with Airbnb's vetting process. I'd never feel fully comfortable doing that

Anonymous 1

Hey I am on Medial • 1y

Lol, are we really surprised that a bunch of Silicon Valley dweebs couldn't see the potential in a simple home-sharing platform? It's like they're living in their own little techie bubble.

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