Airbnb

In two thousand and seven, Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia couldn't make rent in San Francisco. A design conference was coming and every hotel was booked solid. They bought three air mattresses, put up a basic website, and charged eighty dollars a night for a spot on their apartment floor. Three strangers showed up and paid. The next morning, a company existed that hadn't existed the night before. They pitched the idea to investors for two years. More than forty said no. Nobody would sleep in a stranger's apartment. To keep the lights on, they sold novelty cereal boxes during the two thousand and eight election—Obama O's and Cap'n McCains—hand-packed enough boxes to fund the company a few more months. When bookings finally started, Airbnb owned nothing. No buildings. No beds. No cleaning supplies. Hosts supplied everything—the rooms, furniture, local knowledge, towels. Airbnb took three percent from hosts and up to fourteen point two percent from guests.