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Subject: Airbnb (2011)

paulgraham.com

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Re: Subject: Airbnb (2011)

#11

Post by lexs »

zimablue wrote: post #5
dsl wrote: post #2

Airbnb, like Uber, took advantage of regulatory inefficiencies instead of market inefficiencies. The model is do something (in the minds of regulators) illegal, quickly enough that you can become large enough to get a seat at the table when the regulations are reworked. The counter example to these companies are the ones that quickly raised capital to dump scooters on public streets before they could be shut down by…

I think there's some truth that these guys dodge/ignore/lobby down regulations, but there's this narrative now that that's all they do. Being able to flag a taxi through an app is amazing, so is being able to rent a flat from a stranger with confidence that it will be give and work out. Regulation arbitrage is only a fraction of their value, and the regulations are often just rent seeking by those with power. Insane…

At least in Europe there were apps to call a taxi and sites to book vacation homes before either Uber or AirBnB came over. But sure ruthlessly minimising personnel responsibilities and costs can be another "value".

Re: Subject: Airbnb (2011)

#12

Post by hedgew »

I'd love to see more of these genuine, high-level business conversations. It can be difficult to learn and understand what really goes on "at the top", because probably every top exec is under some pressure to appear superhuman.

Re: Subject: Airbnb (2011)

#13

Post by bpizzi »

cft wrote: post #10
dsl wrote: post #2

Airbnb, like Uber, took advantage of regulatory inefficiencies instead of market inefficiencies. The model is do something (in the minds of regulators) illegal, quickly enough that you can become large enough to get a seat at the table when the regulations are reworked. The counter example to these companies are the ones that quickly raised capital to dump scooters on public streets before they could be shut down by…

Also you might want to notice that the last email from Fred is at 4:26am. In France that would be illegal in itself, sending a work email outside of the working hours. /s

What do you mean exactly by illegal? Nobody's going to jail for sending an email outside of working hours, even in France.

Edit: actually, for anyone wondering, the law is that a >50 employee's company should document it's own recommendation about how not to harass your colleagues during out-of-work hours. When fully applied, the worst case scenario would be that, as an employee, you can officially (ie. under a legal base, not legal right, but IANAL) ask your employer to have workaholic colleagues to step down on their out-of-hours emails. Nothing more, nothing less, very very far from "in France it's illegal to send a work email outside of the working hours".

Re: Subject: Airbnb (2011)

#14

Post by [deleted] »

bpizzi wrote: post #13
cft wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also you might want to notice that the last email from Fred is at 4:26am. In France that would be illegal in itself, sending a work email outside of the working hours. /s

What do you mean exactly by illegal? Nobody's going to jail for sending an email outside of working hours, even in France. Edit: actually, for anyone wondering, the law is that a >50 employee's company should document it's own recommendation about how not to harass your colleagues during out-of-work hours. When fully applied, the worst case scenario would be that, as an employee, you can officially (ie. under a legal…

[deleted]

Re: Subject: Airbnb (2011)

#15

Post by vasilipupkin »

dsl wrote: post #2

Airbnb, like Uber, took advantage of regulatory inefficiencies instead of market inefficiencies. The model is do something (in the minds of regulators) illegal, quickly enough that you can become large enough to get a seat at the table when the regulations are reworked. The counter example to these companies are the ones that quickly raised capital to dump scooters on public streets before they could be shut down by…

Seems to me people often confuse something being illegal with something being an actual crime. They had the insight that these minor regulations can be easily broken to deliver value with very few repercussions

Re: Subject: Airbnb (2011)

#16

Post by vasilipupkin »

lexs wrote: post #11
zimablue wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think there's some truth that these guys dodge/ignore/lobby down regulations, but there's this narrative now that that's all they do. Being able to flag a taxi through an app is amazing, so is being able to rent a flat from a stranger with confidence that it will be give and work out. Regulation arbitrage is only a fraction of their value, and the regulations are often just rent seeking by those with power. Insane…

At least in Europe there were apps to call a taxi and sites to book vacation homes before either Uber or AirBnB came over. But sure ruthlessly minimising personnel responsibilities and costs can be another "value".

Not like Airbnb. We had sites like VRBO before Airbnb. The big difference was that you deal with Airbnb, you aren’t signing contract with the host.

Re: Subject: Airbnb (2011)

#17

Post by the_clarence »

lexs wrote: post #11
zimablue wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think there's some truth that these guys dodge/ignore/lobby down regulations, but there's this narrative now that that's all they do. Being able to flag a taxi through an app is amazing, so is being able to rent a flat from a stranger with confidence that it will be give and work out. Regulation arbitrage is only a fraction of their value, and the regulations are often just rent seeking by those with power. Insane…

At least in Europe there were apps to call a taxi and sites to book vacation homes before either Uber or AirBnB came over. But sure ruthlessly minimising personnel responsibilities and costs can be another "value".

Come on. These apps were not reliable AT ALL. There is no comparison here.

Re: Subject: Airbnb (2011)

#18

Post by alexpotato »

hedgew wrote: post #12

I'd love to see more of these genuine, high-level business conversations. It can be difficult to learn and understand what really goes on "at the top", because probably every top exec is under some pressure to appear superhuman.

Most of the time I've had access to these conversations it seems like 10-20% of the time there is some really insightful and/or groundbreaking discussion going on.

The rest of the time, it's something like this:

  A: I've always found that business is about increasing revenue and decreasing costs

  B: I've also always thought that way

  A: Great! I'm glad we're on the same page
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