Study Guide - Airbnb
- To study an entrepreneurial organization during the early start-up phases - idea generation, team building, early fundraising, launch, and early growth.
- To learn from a story about entrepreneurship in the "sharing / gig / on-demand" economy
- To analyze a new type of business model - a multi-sided platform that leverages network effects.
- To learn more about the role of "Incubators."
1. Analyze the characteristics / attributes of the co-founder team.
2. How did the backgrounds and experiences (both successes and failures) of the co-founders prove valuable to the Airbnb story?
3. What is the "triggering event" in this case? How would you describe the "mythology" of the origin story at Airbnb?
4. Why did Airbnb almost not happen? What role does "luck" play in this story?
5. What were the critical moments during the launch / early growth phases of the timeline?
6. What happened at SXSW? Why was this an important learning experience?
7. What were the important "pivots" to the business model?
8. What are incubators (like Y-Combinator) looking for when they select their candidates?
9. What are the important details coming from Airbnb's experience at Y-Combinator?