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Ashton Kutcher Joins the Airbnb Team

blog.airbnb.com

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Re: Ashton Kutcher Joins the Airbnb Team

#81

Post by bproper »

adw wrote: post #56
ericd wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a serious and common mistake to think that the majority of the challenges faced by a startup are technical, especially in a consumer facing startup. More than half the battle is getting people to know about your product, and AK knows marketing and promotion well.

This, this, this. Ashton Kutcher is, in all likelihood, a much better representative of one of the demographics Airbnb would like to access (wealthy hipsters) than any VC would be. The whole game is understanding your audience. He's a professional entertainer and producer - someone very skilled at connecting with the customers Airbnb want, half of whom probably grew up watching Punk'd - with ungodly reach on Twitter.…

Exactly - 6 million Twitter followers and nearly 10 million Facebook fans make for a powerful strategic investor. In a crowded market flush with capital this kind of exposure is far more valuable than another funding round from a highly technical VC.

Re: Ashton Kutcher Joins the Airbnb Team

#82

Post by pavel_lishin »

lwhi wrote: post #79
pavel_lishin wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I remember when companies would pay celebrities to endorse them, not vice-versa.

That was before companies became vehicles for multiplying money ;)

This reminds me of a random shower thought I had - we are living in an age of modern alchemy.

Re: Ashton Kutcher Joins the Airbnb Team

#83

Post by dstein »

rms wrote: post #76
numair wrote: post #32

Some of the comments here on HN about this are quite amusing, especially since many of the people who poo-poo Ashton's involvement in tech have no issues with a normal VC investment in a company. How is Ashton any more annoying than the concept of some random dude thinking he knows whether or not your idea will fly, simply because he was entrusted with tens (if not hundreds, or even thousands!) of millions dollars' w…

I think angel investing is cool precisely because it is a bad investment. Ashton Kutcher could give all of his money to a responsible financial planner but why not gamble some on the next big thing? AirBNB seems like a good choice for him to bet on, and they'll benefit from his notoriety.

From what I've seen Ashton Kutcher tends to invest in companies that make tech that he really wants use. I don't think profit is really the number one thing on his mind - he already has money. And since it was revealed that he was involved in the Skype deal I bet his portfolio isn't hurting anyway.

Re: Ashton Kutcher Joins the Airbnb Team

#85

Post by phlux »

nhangen wrote: post #64
numair wrote: post #32

Some of the comments here on HN about this are quite amusing, especially since many of the people who poo-poo Ashton's involvement in tech have no issues with a normal VC investment in a company. How is Ashton any more annoying than the concept of some random dude thinking he knows whether or not your idea will fly, simply because he was entrusted with tens (if not hundreds, or even thousands!) of millions dollars' w…

Because having Twitter followers and some cash doesn't make you a tech expert, and the media loves to portray him as both that and a social media guru. Furthermore, there's a big difference between making an investment and "joining the team."

I totally agree with you, and while I am not a fan of anything Ashton has ever acted in or done with that career -- I can say I think he is doing a fantastic job with his investment choices.

Now, that appears to largely be attributed to the people he has been able to surround himself with.

With that said, I don't think any of us would be any different. If you have them money - and you get introduced to people who are very tech savvy, and you have a fairly intense interest in where tech is heading - which it would appear he does -- then this is an obvious and intelligent path one would take.

Further, the more that he is surrounded by these other savvy tech investors, speaks with and joins teams like AirBnB - the more I would imagine he would learn and think up additional things.

So, I have respect for what he is doing in this area.

Also, I would like to point out someone who is thought of as a tech expert and social media guru (by many, not me) - Kevin Rose.

Here is a guy who, in my mind, is milking hi tech media status. Even his fucking incubator for his pet projects is called MILK for god sakes.

The guy is portrayed as someone who should be setting trends - yet I have yet to see an original idea (And if you think Digg was original, then you have not been online long enough - it was a better skin on /. and a less sophisticated user-base thus giving it wider appeal)

So, I say good on Ashton for pursuing something other than acting.

Maybe Kevin should pursue something other than tech.

Re: Ashton Kutcher Joins the Airbnb Team

#86

Post by workhorse »

btipling wrote: post #19
citricsquid wrote: post #5

I lost respect for Ashton after the thing a few days ago where he released the "Aplusk twitter app" with the tag line "...my latest creation..." and it's just another app rebranded. Seems he's just selling his name now.

Might have just been copy Demand Media wrote for him.

This is funny on so many levels.

Re: Ashton Kutcher Joins the Airbnb Team

#87

Post by ryanhuff »

dstein wrote: post #83
rms wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think angel investing is cool precisely because it is a bad investment. Ashton Kutcher could give all of his money to a responsible financial planner but why not gamble some on the next big thing? AirBNB seems like a good choice for him to bet on, and they'll benefit from his notoriety.

From what I've seen Ashton Kutcher tends to invest in companies that make tech that he really wants use. I don't think profit is really the number one thing on his mind - he already has money. And since it was revealed that he was involved in the Skype deal I bet his portfolio isn't hurting anyway.

Investing in products and services that you like and use is a profit-driven investment strategy.

Re: Ashton Kutcher Joins the Airbnb Team

#88

Post by jmathai »

chopsueyar wrote: post #62
adamtait wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

'New media expert' is a pretty lame title, but he definitely has something to add. He is an internationally recognized celebrity, and Airbnb is a company crossing the chasm and trying to pull in the laggards. Convincing people to use Airbnb is going to take more than ranking high in Google and having the proper precautions in place. Ashton brings insight to the rest of the world. If anything, I'd say he's an 'old med…

'Celebrity spokesperson'?

I think that's a fitting description.

Re: Ashton Kutcher Joins the Airbnb Team

#89

Post by jarin »

chopsueyar wrote: post #68
ojbyrne wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Who has respect for Donald Trump?

I have more respect for Donald Trump than Mark Cuban.

It used to be the other way around for me, until I saw him on Shark Tank (where he just came off as a huge bully).

Re: Ashton Kutcher Joins the Airbnb Team

#90

Post by guynamedloren »

guynamedloren wrote: post #31
[deleted] wrote: post #22

[deleted]

Really? Have you even looked at what Airbnb has to offer? http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/20478 http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/62627 http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/21031 http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/55179 The list goes on and on. I'm willing to bet Kutcher would rather stay at a beautiful private mansion than a tourist-filled resort or hotel. Who else is going to spend $5000/night to stay at places like this other than the supe…

This has been downvoted several times after the original comment was deleted, for no apparent reason. For those of you who are downvoting for the sake of downvoting, the comment I responded to went something like this:

"it's funny that Kutcher would invest in a service he would probably never, ever use"

It was clear that the commenter was not aware of the quality and luxury Airbnb has to offer, which is probably why the comment was deleted after I responded.

Is the quality of HN slipping? Yes.

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