logo
episode-header-image
Apr 2021
42m 26s

The Secret Sauce of Airbnb | Ingredient ...

Wondery
About this episode

Imagine a world where you show up at a stranger’s house and ask to sleep on their bed in exchange for a few bucks. Strangely enough, millions of people around the globe have done just that with AirBnB. In this three-part series, Sam and John seek the recipe for how a couple of design students overcame the odds to create a billion-dollar tech “unicorn.” In this first episode, it all starts with two founders with an air mattress and a dream, who are rejected by just about every investor in Silicon Valley.

You can binge all episodes of Secret Sauce exclusively and ad-free on Wondery+. Find Wondery+ in the Wondery App or on Apple Podcasts.


See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Up next
May 2021
The Secret Sauce of The NBA Bubble | Ingredient #1: Authenticity | 1
An NBA game is canceled just moments before tip-off. As the thousands of fans file out of the stadium, It’s the first moment for many of the impact the global pandemic will have on the sports world. Enter NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, superstar LeBron James, and a group of proble ... Show More
41m 34s
Jun 2021
The Secret Sauce of Jony Ive | Ingredient #1: Fragile Ideas | 1
There might be no other product in the world more ubiquitous than one designed by Apple. Known for products with sleek features, classic design elements, and of course, their signature logo, Apple has a cult of fans that brandish their beloved purchases with a great deal of pride ... Show More
40m 31s
Jun 2021
The Secret Sauce of Warren Buffett | Ingredient #1: Trusting Your Inner Scorecard | 1
Warren Buffett, like most hyper-successful business people, wasn't born a billionaire. Buffett was born during the Great Depression and watched his country suffer financially. At an early age, the business magnate begins studying financial trends and pinches pennies on his way to ... Show More
40m 46s
Recommended Episodes
Apr 2023
A Dream, Disruption, and Airbnb’s Greatest Challenges with Brian Chesky
Since Brian Chesky and his then-roommate rented out three air mattresses in their apartment in 2007, he’s been on a wild ride building Airbnb. What are the biggest challenges of building an $80-billon dollar business and disrupting the hospitality industry in the process? How do ... Show More
47m 30s
Aug 2017
Airbnb: Joe Gebbia (2017)
We're hard at work planning our upcoming live show, so we bring you this favorite from the last year: Airbnb. A chance encounter with a stranger gave Joe Gebbia an idea to help pay his rent. That idea grew into a company that now has more rooms than the biggest hotel chain in the ... Show More
42m 59s
Dec 2022
TIP503: The Story of Airbnb and Brian Chesky
IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN: 04:38 - How Airbnb originally started and its keys to becoming a $60 billion company. 07:13 - Why getting into Y-Combinator was the critical turning point for Airbnb to get off the ground. 11:40 - How their transition to selling specialty breakfa ... Show More
1h 3m
Sep 2025
First Time Founders with Ed Elson – How Airbnb Scaled from 3 Guests to 2 Billion
Ed speaks with Nathan Blecharczyk, Chief Strategy Officer and co-founder of Airbnb. They discuss the pros and cons of starting a business with your friends, the moment he realized the business would be a success, and how he learned to turn a crisis into an opportunity. Learn more ... Show More
54m 41s
Sep 2025
The Hospitality Principles That Build Billion-Dollar Startups
Want to start your own million dollar business with less than $1k? Get the guide: https://clickhubspot.com/bgk Episode 751: Sam Parr ( https://x.com/theSamParr ) talks to Will Guidara ( https://x.com/wguidara ) about how startups can use principles of 5-star restaurants to beat t ... Show More
1h 2m
Jul 2022
The Art of the Hustle
In Reid’s first startup, he was told “No” by almost every VC he pitched. How do you get beyond that? How do you become relentlessly resourceful in your career? How can you master the art of the hustle without being perceived as a “hustler”? On this episode of the Startup of You P ... Show More
36m 36s
Mar 2025
7 Business Ideas from a Unicorn Founder
💰 Get the [free] Episode 691: Shaan Puri ( https://x.com/ShaanVP ) talks to Immad Akhund ( https://x.com/immad )  about the businesses he would start if he wasn’t running a unicorn. — Show Notes:  (0:00) Intro (2:17) IDEA: Lunar nuclear power plant (5:04) IDEA: Defense ... Show More
59m 50s