(upbeat music)
- [Narrator] Growing up, Brian Chesky never envisioned
himself as an entrepreneur.
Instead, the Airbnb co-founder came up with the idea
for his company almost by accident.
Struggling to make rent in their San Francisco apartment,
he and co-founder, Joe Gebbia blew up several air mattresses
and rented out their apartment
to attendees of a design conference.
That idea blossomed into a company
that's turned the travel industry upside down
since it launched in 2007.
Here are some of the most crucial lessons
that Chesky has learned from building
a multi-billion dollar business
with little entrepreneurial experience.
Number one, solve a problem.
Instead of brainstorming startup ideas,
look to your own life for a problem that needs solving.
Citing the story of how Airbnb came about
from renting out the founders' apartment,
Chesky says that he learned the best ideas for companies
often stem from attempting to solve personal problems.
"If we tried to think of a good idea,
we wouldn't have been able to think of a good idea at all."
"You just have to have a solution for a problem
in your own life."
Number two, get informed.
Knowing your industry's laws and regulations
is imperative.
Airbnb has run into its fair share of issues
with local and national hospitality laws.
Part of that comes from the inevitable clash
of starting a tech company that must work around laws
that don't take into account the burgeoning concept
of the sharing economy.
"There were laws created for businesses
and there were laws created for people.
What the sharing economy did was create a third category.
People as businesses.
They didn't know whether to bucket our activity
as a person or as a business."
Chesky says the best solution to those hurdles
is knowledge and an open mind.
Number three, prioritize your core customers.
Chesky says some of the best advice he's received
is that it's preferable to have
a hundred people love your company,
rather than a million people sort of like it.
"If 100 people like you, then they'll tell 10 people."
From a management perspective,
it's also easier to focus on the needs
of a smaller core group of customers.
And number four, find role models.
Chesky says he considers about 20 to 30 entrepreneurs
to be his mentors.
"Every time I didn't know how to do something,
I figured there's someone who does."
Aspiring entrepreneurs should be aggressive
about seeking help and advisors,
as they're often eager to impart their wisdom.
"Some of the best entrepreneurs
are the most shameless people in the world."
(upbeat music)