Airbnb: A 1 billion dollar start-up for political momentum

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Tencent Science and Technology (Dongyun) Beijing time September 7 News, in 2008, when the United States Democratic National Convention (Democratic Nation Convention) from the Denver Pepsi Center (PEPSI Center) moved to the larger Invesco Stadium (Invesco Field To the nomination speech of Barack Obama, the senator, many people want to know where the sudden attack of tourists will live.

To Brian Chesky, co-founder of the AOL home leasing website Airbnb, it was a eureka moment when Archimedes, an ancient Greek scholar, suddenly came in for a bath in the tub, and found his long unresolved solution to the problem of buoyancy, So the surprise called "Eureka", and then discovered Archimedes's law.

"At the time we were thinking about the problem ... Suddenly there was a flash of light. "he said. "That's where they're staying: they're going to be in a house rented by Airbnb." ”

In about a few weeks, hundreds of people began to hang their apartments in Denver for rent on the Airbnb website. Airbnb allows users to rent various types of houses, from an extra room to a separate house. "If it wasn't for the Democratic National Convention, it would be hard to imagine what Airbnb would be like today." Chesky said in an interview with CNNMoney. "In terms of the business we're engaged in, it's very difficult to develop quickly, and you need a big burst of momentum." ”

Today, Airbnb's business scope has already covered 192 countries in the world, and the number of room nights booked has exceeded 10 million. According to sources close to the company, Airbnb's valuation has reached $1 billion trillion. The company has raised 119.8 million of billions of dollars in funding from top Silicon Valley investment agencies such as Andreessen Horowitz, DST Global and general catalyst. Moreover, the company's services have been extended from housing leasing to other areas: the Airbnb website has nearly 1000 boats available for hire, as well as hundreds of castles and more than 100 tree house leases.

Airbnb has changed dramatically compared with 2008, when it was unthinkable that the company would be able to build rental services into such a successful business. When the company was first set up, investors were reluctant to invest in it, and Chesky and another co-founder, Chow Gobbia Joe Gebbia, had almost made a break. But the two men seized on the political momentum of the Democratic National Convention, using what they had learned in the Rhode Island Design Institute (Rhode Island parochial) to launch a brand of cereal, named Obama O ' and Cap ' n McCain ”。

Airbnb sold the political collection at $40 a carton to raise money to realize his ideas. Eventually, the sale of the new product brought them 300,000 of dollars in revenue, laying the foundation for expansion.

The exponential growth of the company is not smooth sailing. In 2011, Airbnb promised to take more stringent security measures after a house in San Francisco had been looted. Now, the company offers 24 hours of customer service, while offering up to 1 million dollars in standby compensation to compensate for possible losses.

Airbnb also faces a host of judicial problems: Many apartment leases restrict guest sublet, a rule that varies from one type of apartment to another, even in various states and cities. Real estate lawyers have also pointed out that people who rent houses may face debt problems. Most insurance policies do not cover commercial apartment and house rental activities, which is the basic business of Airbnb. In addition, rental housing may even violate homeowners ' mortgage contracts.

Chesky says it depends on how users and homeowners understand their agreement. "When it comes to the end, we see ourselves as a platform." "Chesky said. "We ask homeowners to have a very open and transparent relationship with the people they live with so that they can do it," he said. ”

Nonetheless, Airbnb is still growing at a rate of 400% a year. With a global presence of 10, the company is facing a new set of problems: global expansion and the building of a mobile platform.

Many things have changed since the birth of Airbnb, but the design of Chesky still dominates the way it operates and his views on the company and its future. "You have the ability to design the world you are in, and that is a very powerful thing," he said. "Chesky said.