During Y Combinator, Paul Graham gave them crucial advice: focus on building a product that a small group of users would love.
"Paul Graham said, 'It's better to have 100 people that love you than a million people that just sort of like you.'... He said, 'All you have to do is get 100 people.'"
Chesky and his team took this to heart, personally engaging with their users.
"We literally would fly, during Y Combinator, from Mountain View to New York... We'd meet with every one of our hosts, and we'd live with them... I used to also carry a bank ledger in my backpack... Knock on your door and hand you a check."
They focused on improving listings by offering professional photography.
"I would go there and be like, 'Wow, the photos are terrible. This is actually a really nice house.'... We thought, 'What if you just clicked a button and a photographer next day would magically show up and photograph your home?'"
By focusing on the user experience and doing things that didn't scale, they built a loyal community.
"Paul Graham said, 'It's better to have 100 people that love you than a million people that just sort of like you.'... He said, 'All you have to do is get 100 people.'"
Chesky and his team took this to heart, personally engaging with their users.
"We literally would fly, during Y Combinator, from Mountain View to New York... We'd meet with every one of our hosts, and we'd live with them... I used to also carry a bank ledger in my backpack... Knock on your door and hand you a check."
They focused on improving listings by offering professional photography.
"I would go there and be like, 'Wow, the photos are terrible. This is actually a really nice house.'... We thought, 'What if you just clicked a button and a photographer next day would magically show up and photograph your home?'"
By focusing on the user experience and doing things that didn't scale, they built a loyal community.
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