In October 2007, Brian Chesky moved to San Francisco to live with Joe Gebbia and did not have enough money to pay rent. During an Industrial Designers Society of America conference, hotel rooms were scarce. The two opened their home to short-term renters, offering air mattresses and Pop-Tarts for breakfast. That small experiment became the starting point for Airbnb. Nathan Blecharczyk later joined as the third co-founder and worked on a website. Before South by Southwest in 2008, the site generated two bookings. When growth remained difficult, the founders used microblogs, sold election-themed cereal, and enrolled in Y Combinator. The cereal sales generated between US$ 20,000 and US$ 30,000, according to the cited material. Airbnb later became a public company in December 2020 and continues to operate as a marketplace that charges a commission from each booking.
The path
- August 29, 1981Brian Chesky was born in Niskayuna, New York, U.S.
- 1999Chesky graduated from Niskayuna High School.
- 2004Chesky graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in industrial design.
- After 2004Chesky moved to Los Angeles to work for 3DID as an industrial designer.
- October 2007Chesky moved to San Francisco to live with Joe Gebbia and hosted short-term renters in their home.
- February 2008Nathan Blecharczyk joined as chief technology officer and the third co-founder of the venture then named AirBed & Breakfast.
- August 11, 2008The site Airbedandbreakfast.com was launched.
- 2008The founders sold election-themed cereal and raised between US$ 20,000 and US$ 30,000 according to the Brian Chesky article, while the Airbnb article reports $30,000.
- Early 2009The founders enrolled in a Y Combinator startup course.
- March 2009The site had 10,000 users and 2,500 listings, and the company shortened its name to Airbnb.com.
- Fall 2010Chesky assumed the title of chief executive officer of Airbnb.
- 2011The cofounders decided against purchasing Wimdu, purchased Accoleo, and expanded in Europe.
- December 2020Airbnb became a public company via an initial public offering.
- September 2024Chesky gave a two-hour talk at a Y Combinator event on his leadership style.
- May 2025Airbnb launched Airbnb Services and a redesigned Airbnb Experiences platform.
The numbers and where they come from
Every figure comes with the source it was taken from.
„the co-founder and CEO of Airbnb"
„Born Brian Joseph Chesky"
„graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in 2004"
„to work for 3DID as an industrial designer"
„In October 2007, he moved to San Francisco"
„did not have enough money to pay his rent"
„they opened their house to short-term renters"
„providing air mattresses for guests to sleep on and Pop-Tarts for breakfast"
„Nathan Blecharczyk to work on a new website"
„generated two bookings, one of which was Chesky"
„The strategy led to 800 room listings and 80 guest bookings"
„US$ 20,000 in debt each after the Democratic National Convention"
„Sales of the rebranded cereal generated between US$ 20,000– US$ 30,000"
„provided US$ 20,000 in seed money and training"
„Sequoia Capital partner Greg McAdoo invested US$ 585,000"
„He assumed the title of chief executive officer of Airbnb in fall 2010"
„In December 2020, Airbnb became a public company via an initial public offering"
„It acts as a broker and charges a commission from each booking"
„Revenue US$ 12.2 billion (2025)"
„a 2-hour talk at a Y Combinator event"
„In May 2025, Airbnb expanded beyond home rentals"
What to take from it
- Start with a problem you can observe directly, not a business label.
- Test the smallest version of the idea with real people.
- Use narrow distribution channels before trying to reach everyone.
- When the first approach stalls, change the method without abandoning the problem.
- Treat mistakes as part of operating, especially when customers and hosts are affected.
Where things stand today
Brian Chesky is described as Airbnb's co-founder and CEO. Airbnb is described as a public company operating an online marketplace for short- and long-term homestays, experiences, and services.
The full guide as a PDF
Every step, the numbers with their sources, the mistakes and the lessons — as a document to keep.
Guide als PDF ladenSources
All the material this story rests on.
Transparency: every figure in this article was checked against its original source. Anything stated only by the person described is labelled as self-reported. Claims that could not be verified do not appear here at all.