Brian Chesky is a renowned American entrepreneur who is the co-founder of Airbnb. His journey as a businessman begun when was he was merely a college student. He started running a hockey team, which proved to be unsuccessful at the last hour. Brian along with his team did all they could to revitalize their business. Over the years, the young entrepreneur realized that earning money was not a piece of cake. Thinking for new ideas, Brian and his team came up with the idea of Airbnb.
The idea of Airbnb:
The urge to earn more money and get out of debts forced Chesky to risk himself into a business he was unsure about. He noticed that hostels were fully booked due to a local industrial conference and visitors needed more place for accommodation. An idea clicked through his mind and the younger bought two airbeds. He created a website named, “Air Bed and Breakfast, which was designed for people to sleep and get breakfast. The idea was new and Brian successfully took the first-mover advantage by charging $80 for one night.
How it started?
Gradually, the youngster got his first customers who were a 30 years old man from India, a woman from Boston, and a father with his children from Utah. As time passed, Brian and his co-founder, Nathan Blecharczyk, realized that they need to step up the business to get more customer attention. So, they changed their website near the time of the Democratic National Convention. This convention hosted more than 20,000 people and all the hotels were tightly booked.
More than 600 people stayed at Airbnb for the convention; however, this success was short-lived. The company has little funds to manage its financial situation and this was when Brian came up with a unique funding plan. The smart business partners earned a dazzling $30,000 selling the Obama O’s and Cap’n McCains cereals. This cereal funding gave hope to these entrepreneurs who decided to raise more funding of $30,000 from Y Combiner. They traveled to expand their market, bought the better camera for uploading pictures on the website, and tried convincing influential people like Fred Wilson to invest in Airbnb.
Current Performance:
After they visited New York, Airbnb started taking off as the focus changed from shared spaces to every type of accommodations. By the end of March 2009, Airbnb has 2500 listings and over 10,000 registered users. The company is one of the most successful business ventures today with Brian listed as “100 Most Influential People of 2015”. Brian Chesky is, without a doubt, an exemplary businessman who showed courage, resilience, and innovation in his thinking approach. He changed the course of his fate with his determination and smart targeting of the market niche. Chesky is one of the best assets America has ever been bestowed with.