00:00 Airbnb, originally known as Air Bed and Breakfast Incorporated, is going public today raising over $3.5 billion and initially valued at over $47 billion, operating in 220 countries and 100,000 cities with $38 billion of bookings made on the platform last year and over 50 million active guests.

08:06 The founders of Airbnb, Joe and Brian, met in college and had aspirations of starting a company together, with Joe predicting that someone would write a book about their journey.

15:50 Joe and Brian come up with the idea to turn their apartment into a designer's bed and breakfast during a design conference in San Francisco, and they receive positive feedback and a few guests, including a young designer named Amal.

23:16 Joe and Brian brainstorm ideas for their Airbnb concept, including the idea of roommate matching, and they bring Nate, a developer and former roommate, back into the project; they decide to give Airbnb another try and pitch it to potential hosts for the upcoming South by Southwest festival.

30:50 Brian and Joe attend startup school, where they hear Jeff Bezos speak and meet Sequoia partner Greg McAdoo, leading them to apply for Y Combinator's winter batch and use Airbnb at the presidential conventions to make some money.

38:34 Sequoia partner Greg McAdoo sees the potential in Airbnb and convinces Sequoia to invest just under $600,000 in the company, despite the financial crisis and housing crisis happening at the time.

46:43 Airbnb used growth hacks such as Google AdWords and Facebook ads to drive demand and supply, and capitalized on the trend of people wanting a different travel experience than traditional hotels.

55:04 Airbnb's success in Europe was attributed to their acquisition of smaller competitors, the presence of listings with reviews, and their unique cash flow model, which allowed them to finance their own growth without relying heavily on investor dollars.

01:03:04 Airbnb's success and profitability allowed them to create a luxurious office space, unveil a new logo, and launch additional products like experiences, places, and trips, although the performance of these new products is not specified in the S-1 filing.

01:11:24 Airbnb considered adding car rentals, grocery delivery, flights, and even an airline to their trips product, but these ideas didn't align well with the core concept of Airbnb being about belonging and community, and the majority of users don't use the platform for meeting strangers; instead, they use it as one of their options for accommodations.

01:19:25 Airbnb's cost structure continues to grow despite the company experiencing a decrease in bookings and revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to layoffs and significant reductions in marketing expenses.

01:27:49 Despite experiencing a decrease in bookings and revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Airbnb filed for an IPO and priced their shares at $68, raising $3.5 billion and achieving a market cap of $47 billion, with their stock opening at $146 per share and reaching a valuation of over $100 billion.

01:36:49 Airbnb's IPO resulted in significant wealth for its founders and investors, with Brian Chesky now having over $10 billion in Airbnb stock, Sequoia making around $13 billion, and other investors also seeing substantial returns.

01:45:39 Airbnb's growth is slowing and it may not be able to access a large chunk of the $1.8 trillion short-term stay market, leading to potential market saturation and competition from other platforms like VRBO and Booking.com.

01:54:11 Airbnb's lack of innovation and execution outside of their initial product offering raises concerns about their ability to expand into new markets and compete with specialized verticalized marketplaces.

02:02:13 Airbnb's power lies in its global, two-sided network effect, where every participant in the system adds meaningful value, and its initial counter positioning against hotel chains due to its lower cost structure for bringing on supply.

02:10:05 Airbnb's revenue in 2019 was $5.3 billion, but they couldn't generate any profit due to high expenses, while Booking.com made $5 billion in net income profit with a larger scale.

02:18:17 Airbnb's ability to set the terms of the market and collect payment upfront has contributed to their strong free cash flow, but their lack of performance marketing and declining guest cohort retention pose challenges for future growth, while the company's reliance on reviews has not necessarily made the booking process easier or more enjoyable for users, and the impact of Airbnb on housing supply and prices is a topic of debate.

02:25:51 The impact of Airbnb on housing supply and prices is a topic of debate, with estimates suggesting that over 50% of the supply on the platform is property managers, but it is difficult to determine the exact percentage.

02:34:10 The hosts discuss their personal experiences with the San Francisco Ballet and mention a digital Nutcracker experience that the ballet company created.