The Dark Truth About Airbnb

The idea of Airbnb had basically been done before, and Airbnb was actually illegal in many cities. Even Airbnb's founders didn’t think it would work!

And yet, despite everything, Airbnb has become a billion dollar company, and one of the greatest business success stories of the digital age. They’re the largest accommodation provider in the world, yet they don’t own any real estate.

So… how did they do it? Welcome to the INSANE story of Airbnb!The story of Airbnb is slightly ridiculous - it started with Airbnb's founders renting out an air mattress in their apartment to make money, and then making cereal (Obama O’s and Cap’n McCain's) to get out of credit card debt.

The history of Airbnb is full of controversy, twists, and useful business lessons for entrepreneurs. And it all began when Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia were on the verge of getting evicted from their apartment. Rent was due, and they were broke.

Their unfortunate circumstances would lead them to creating Airbnb, one of the fastest growing businesses.But as well as looking at the INSANE Story of Airbnb, we’ll also look at Airbnb’s scandals, Airbnb vs governments, how Airbnb broke the law, how Airbnb dealt with the pandemic, and whether Airbnb is ever actually going to be profitable...

00:00 | Intro

00:30 | Unemployed

05:41 | Cereal

10:49 | Momentum

14:44 | Crisis

17:34 | Illegal

21:16 | Pandemic