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Airbnb Has Arrived: Raising Mega-Round at a $1 Billion+ Valuation

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Re: Airbnb Has Arrived: Raising Mega-Round at a $1 Billion+ Valuation

#81

Post by robg »

pg wrote: post #20
photon_off wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think there's something to be said about knowing when to fold, and not to view these nobody-believed-in-us-but-we-overcame edge cases as motivation to play a losing hand. There will always be false negatives, ideas that are rejected by angels but which later become enormously successful. However, if the industry's finest angels are all passing, and you can literally find nobody to invest, it is probably a wise deci…

I can think of cases where startups have found no one to invest, and have ended up doing well. This is where something like YC can help, actually; we can tell people candidly whether we think it's the investors who are wrong, or the startup.

Yet that candid advice didn't break through to someone like Fred Wilson. I wonder if more visionary ideas are harder for investors to truly recognize with their templates of "experience".

Ebay for Spaces is a very clever shorthand, but it seems just abstract enough to question without a concrete instance. Now, of course, it is one of those brilliant with hindsight instances that seem easy but require immense dedication.

Re: Airbnb Has Arrived: Raising Mega-Round at a $1 Billion+ Valuation

#82

Post by spoiledtechie »

ChuckFrank wrote: post #43

I've been waiting for some time to call out Airbnb, and I think this is the right time. Firstly, the idea of short term residential rentals is not new. Long before Airbnb major cities, Paris, London, New York, and Toronto were dealing with the issues and the problems of short term / nightly residential rentals. In fact the latest condo boom in Toronto has been ascribed to international investors buying condos explici…

Ditto on

So, to what do I think Airbnb's success comes from? I think it's Airbnb's marketing / hype / buzz that has been carefully choreographed to maximize their valuation. And to this, I congratulate Airbnb on their latest success, and to a dance well done.

Re: Airbnb Has Arrived: Raising Mega-Round at a $1 Billion+ Valuation

#83

Post by robg »

pg wrote: post #44
spicyj wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why are you more likely to be able to accurately judge a startup than other potential investors?

I have so much more data. I've been watching their trajectory for 4 months, while other investors (especially those that chose not to invest) may only have seen them for a few minutes at Demo Day.

But without something as quirky as the cereal story, you would have rejected them?

Re: Airbnb Has Arrived: Raising Mega-Round at a $1 Billion+ Valuation

#84

Post by kjksf »

pg wrote: post #20
photon_off wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think there's something to be said about knowing when to fold, and not to view these nobody-believed-in-us-but-we-overcame edge cases as motivation to play a losing hand. There will always be false negatives, ideas that are rejected by angels but which later become enormously successful. However, if the industry's finest angels are all passing, and you can literally find nobody to invest, it is probably a wise deci…

I can think of cases where startups have found no one to invest, and have ended up doing well. This is where something like YC can help, actually; we can tell people candidly whether we think it's the investors who are wrong, or the startup.

You're assuming that you're more likely to be right than other investors.

There's an adjective for that kind of thinking, which I won't use because in context of hn it would be downvote suicide.

And yes, I know you're THE pg, but other investors, like Fred Wilson, John Doerr or Marc Andreessen are also THE investors.

The argument that I would find more persuasive would be that YC can help because it's willing to take more risks on "out there" ideas due to dramatically lower investment in any one startup and higher number of startups it funds.

Re: Airbnb Has Arrived: Raising Mega-Round at a $1 Billion+ Valuation

#85

Post by temphn »

ChuckFrank wrote: post #43

I've been waiting for some time to call out Airbnb, and I think this is the right time. Firstly, the idea of short term residential rentals is not new. Long before Airbnb major cities, Paris, London, New York, and Toronto were dealing with the issues and the problems of short term / nightly residential rentals. In fact the latest condo boom in Toronto has been ascribed to international investors buying condos explici…

^ This post is a classic example of why it's so hard to be an entrepreneur. No matter what mountain you climb, there will always be people yelling that you don't deserve the success, or that anyone could have climbed that mountain, or that you should stop climbing mountains right now lest you "empty the downtown core". Always another brickbat.

Re: Airbnb Has Arrived: Raising Mega-Round at a $1 Billion+ Valuation

#86

Post by nostromo »

I'm curious how well Airbnb is doing outside of New York. New York's real-estate market is so out of whack it strikes me as fertile ground for p2p hotel rooms.

One example: I wonder how many people are renting out rent-controlled apartments on Airbnb at a huge profit, while the owner maintains the unit at a loss?

Re: Airbnb Has Arrived: Raising Mega-Round at a $1 Billion+ Valuation

#87

Post by angryasian »

tpatke wrote: post #21

I bet the guys behind CouchSurfing are kicking themselves about now. http://techcrunch.com/2006/06/29/couchsurfing-deletes-itself... Always keep a backup of your database! :-) In this case, I think it is pretty clear the execution is worth a heck of a lot more than the idea.

part of their success is due to being in the echo chamber. If you view their stats pre yc, I would of questioned their success as well.

Re: Airbnb Has Arrived: Raising Mega-Round at a $1 Billion+ Valuation

#88

Post by jorgeortiz85 »

temphn wrote: post #85
ChuckFrank wrote: post #43

I've been waiting for some time to call out Airbnb, and I think this is the right time. Firstly, the idea of short term residential rentals is not new. Long before Airbnb major cities, Paris, London, New York, and Toronto were dealing with the issues and the problems of short term / nightly residential rentals. In fact the latest condo boom in Toronto has been ascribed to international investors buying condos explici…

^ This post is a classic example of why it's so hard to be an entrepreneur. No matter what mountain you climb, there will always be people yelling that you don't deserve the success, or that anyone could have climbed that mountain, or that you should stop climbing mountains right now lest you "empty the downtown core". Always another brickbat.

Huh? Entrepreneurs deal with lots of very difficult challenges. Haters are unpleasant, but not really a "challenge".

Re: Airbnb Has Arrived: Raising Mega-Round at a $1 Billion+ Valuation

#89

Post by hyperbovine »

revorad wrote: post #52
ChuckFrank wrote: post #43

I've been waiting for some time to call out Airbnb, and I think this is the right time. Firstly, the idea of short term residential rentals is not new. Long before Airbnb major cities, Paris, London, New York, and Toronto were dealing with the issues and the problems of short term / nightly residential rentals. In fact the latest condo boom in Toronto has been ascribed to international investors buying condos explici…

Finally, someone had the insight to call out this company! I mean they've only managed to build a billion dollar business by turning ordinary homeowners into businessmen, provided better accomodation to hundreds of thousands of travellers across the world, destabilised an established old industry with entrenched market leaders while taking on a myriad of social and local government issues. Seriously, they don't deser…

"Billion dollar business" typically refers to revenue, not valuation.

Re: Airbnb Has Arrived: Raising Mega-Round at a $1 Billion+ Valuation

#90

Post by Mz »

ChuckFrank wrote: post #43

I've been waiting for some time to call out Airbnb, and I think this is the right time. Firstly, the idea of short term residential rentals is not new. Long before Airbnb major cities, Paris, London, New York, and Toronto were dealing with the issues and the problems of short term / nightly residential rentals. In fact the latest condo boom in Toronto has been ascribed to international investors buying condos explici…

Re your first point, the only first hand knowledge/experience I have of this type market is from when my sister lived in Augusta Georgia. Every year for the Master's, some folks temporarily rent out their houses because the Master's (golf tournament) brings so many visitors to Augusta that the hotel market can't adequately serve it. It's a once a year event lasting about 2 weeks and the rest of the time the hotels are perfectly adequate to the needs of the city. The houses that are deemed the most desirable for this purpose are not those in the city core but those in walking distance of the golf course. The city is a madhouse during the Master's and traffic is insane (god help you if you need to make a left hand turn on the main drag that goes down to the golf course). Some residents rent out their house because you can temporarily get a premium price, enough to pay for you to go vacation elsewhere and not have to put up with this insanity. I have difficulty imagining another means to adequately meet the ridiculously high rental demand for this brief annual period.

I know it's an unusual situation, but it makes me wonder if it's really "all downside" so to speak. (And I had a goal of being a city planner at one time, so I am plenty familiar with the fact that out-of-town owners and the like can be very detrimental to a community.)

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