61–70 of 94 posts
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…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Maybe the blog post just read disingenuously. "New media expert", really? I've got lots of respect for the AirBnB team. They've done a great job building their business and if this helps then good for them.
'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…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Maybe the blog post just read disingenuously. "New media expert", really? I've got lots of respect for the AirBnB team. They've done a great job building their business and if this helps then good for them.
'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…
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…
Furthermore, there's a big difference between making an investment and "joining the team."
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think it's because he has no expertise on technology, can give you zero advice, will actually probably give you the wrong advice, cannot help you with your scaling or implementation issues, cannot refer you to the right technical people when you need it. The one thing that silicon valley has that none of us in the rest of the world have is a vibrant network of like minded, able and willing to help people. It's perf…
Ashton has been a very helpful angel for us and he uses so many tech products that he actually gives great advice. Him not being part of the valley is a plus! Every VC knows the same exact execs at Facebook, Twitter, Groupon, etc, so you get little benefit from having multiple Sand Hill Road VCs on your team. Ashton can connect you to a whole different world of people and influencers who could really help your compan…
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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…
Does airbnb indemnify property owners from lawsuits by renters of their homes? If Ashton, slips in a beautiful private mansion's wet marble floor and shatters his hip, who is liable? The mansion owner? Airbnb?
In the hotel situation, the hotel is a business and has insurance to protect from such catastrophes.
I'm calling it now: within a year there'll be a romantic comedy movie out called Airbnb (or equiv), starring Ashton, and involving, well, you can guess. Not only will it make for a great gimmick to hang that kind of movie around, but it would be massive "free" advertising for the company's service. This and his Twitter following are the obvious, most likely wins for Airbnb.
I've been meaning to write about the absolutely horrible experience I had using AirBnB in San Francisco recently. It was a nightmare. The place was filthy (the pictures online were taken on their best day ever), the people were unfriendly, the room was small and dank- with no way to even lock the door. It was really, really bad. I suppose it would be worth a gamble if you have the means to change plans on a dime and…