Airbnb

About

Airbnb is an online marketplace for short-term and long-term lodging, primarily homestays, vacation rentals, and tourism experiences ¹. The company was founded in 2008 by Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia, and Nathan Blecharczyk in San Francisco, California ¹².

The founding story began in October 2007, when roommates Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia could not afford rent for their San Francisco apartment. They came up with the idea of putting air mattresses in their living room and renting them out as a bed-and-breakfast during an Industrial Designers Society of America conference, when hotel rooms in the city were scarce ²³. Nathan Blecharczyk, Chesky’s former roommate, joined as the third co-founder and chief technology officer in February 2008 ².

Before receiving venture capital funding, the founders famously raised $30,000 by selling novelty cereal boxes themed around the 2008 U.S. presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain, primarily at the 2008 Democratic National Convention ²³. In January 2009, the founders were accepted into Y Combinator’s winter batch, which provided $20,000 in funding in exchange for a 6% stake ²³.

Airbnb went public on December 10, 2020, on the Nasdaq under the ticker ABNB ⁴. Shares were priced at $68 and closed the first day of trading at $144.71, up 113%, giving the company a valuation of approximately $100 billion ⁴⁵. As of 2026, Airbnb remains an active public company.

Funding History

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What Investors Say

Ron Conway (SV Angel): Conway’s investment in Airbnb was motivated by his belief in the founders’ mission and his commitment to active mentorship. Brian Chesky later credited Conway as essential to Airbnb’s success, noting that Conway provided far more than capital ¹⁰.

Greg McAdoo (Sequoia Capital): McAdoo led the $600K seed investment in Airbnb. When he met the founders at Sequoia’s office in early 2009, it was a three-person, seed-stage company with just $5,000 a week in revenue. But the team articulated a completely novel approach to travel that was “unorthodox, but compelling” ¹¹¹².

Alfred Lin (Sequoia Capital): Lin took over the Airbnb board seat from McAdoo in 2012 at Brian Chesky’s request. Sequoia’s investment approach, as Lin described it, involves “painting a picture of the world, and showing the conviction of why you believe that this is going to be the case” ¹².

What Founders Say

Brian Chesky (CEO & Co-Founder) on the early days: “I didn’t think about how hard it would be to get a network effect business going early on. I just figured Facebook grew in two weeks, so it’s going to be easy for us. Of course, we launch it, and it’s no one’s coming” ¹³.

Brian Chesky on persistence: “Our ‘overnight’ success took 1,000 days” ¹³.

Brian Chesky on building community: “I think the key that makes Airbnb is the fact that we’re a community, not just a series of commodities” ¹³.

Brian Chesky on growth approach: “It’s easier to do something that one person loves first. Go person by person to 100. Then figure out how to scale that” ¹⁴.

Brian Chesky on Ron Conway: “Ron is much more than a Rolodex – Ron acts like a guardian angel for an entire generation of founders.” He added: “Without Ron Conway, Airbnb wouldn’t be what it is today” ¹⁰.

Sources