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Tim Ferriss

Joe Gebbia — Co-Founder of Airbnb (#301)

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Joe Gebbia.

“Anything I come across that feels impossible, I probably need to take a second look.”

– Joe Gebbia

Joe Gebbia (@jgebbia) is a designer, entrepreneur, and global explorer. He is the co-founder and CPO of Airbnb, which has changed the way the world travels and how people connect in more than 190 countries.

In this wide-ranging and hilarious interview, Joe shares the decisions, hardship, failures, and successes that prepared him for Airbnb.

Enjoy!

You can find the transcript of this episode here. Transcripts of all episodes can be found here.

Joe Gebbia — Co-Founder of Airbnb

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xao9DJEpk8I]

Want to hear another episode with a fascinating leader? Listen to my conversation with Ray Dalio. We discuss how Ray thinks about investment decisions, the three books he would give to every graduating high school or college senior, how he might assess cryptocurrency, and much, much more (stream below or right-click here to download):

#264: Ray Dalio, The Steve Jobs of Investing

This episode is brought to you by Athletic Greens. I get asked all the time, “If you could only use one supplement, what would it be?” My answer is, inevitably, Athletic Greens. It is my all-in-one nutritional insurance. I recommended it in The 4-Hour Body and did not get paid to do so. As a listener of The Tim Ferriss Show, you’ll get 30 percent off your first order at AthleticGreens.com/Tim.

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QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

Scroll below for links and show notes…

Selected Links from the Episode

  • Connect with Joe Gebbia:

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

Show Notes

  • How did Joe’s first business venture get him into trouble? [02:09]
  • How did Joe wind up being raised in the rural deep south? [04:47]
  • What sparked Joe’s entrepreneurial curiosity? [05:30]
  • What did Joe’s parents teach him about connecting with others and going above and beyond to be of service? [07:00]
  • How Joe’s parents learned to support his interests the hard way. [11:55]
  • Joe talks about some of his other early entrepreneurial exploits. [14:07]
  • From a high school perspective, what did Joe want to be when he grew up? [16:44]
  • On getting into the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). Was it the environment or the medium that helped him excel? [18:05]
  • How Joe rose to the challenge of outdoing a legendary senior prank at his high school. [20:32]
  • Why has Joe seen Michael Jordan naked? [45:19]
  • What source does Joe credit for his intuition to go beyond expectations? [1:08:29]
  • How founding a basketball team at RISD was like running a startup. [1:15:38]
  • We’ve talked about balls. Let’s talk about buns — CritBuns. [1:22:50]
  • A rejection equation: SW2 + WC = MO (Some will love it, some won’t + who cares? = move on) AKA “Keep going until you find the people who do love your idea.” [1:33:56]
  • The goal Joe set for CritBuns that would represent the pinnacle of achievement — and how he reached it. [1:38:52]
  • What happened when Joe took CritBuns to Japan? [1:47:03]
  • On pitching to Billy Mays. [1:51:35]
  • What was the turning point that made Joe pivot away from building a CritBuns empire? [1:53:20]
  • On starting a digital service during the revenue-light Web 2.0 years. [2:02:03]
  • How a rent crisis prompted the birth of Airbnb. [2:05:49]
  • Mixed reactions to the initial Airbnb concept, an unsuccessful SXSW launch, and the company’s evolution into something bigger. [2:18:27]
  • A more successful relaunch during the Obama vs. McCain campaign. [2:23:31]
  • Closing thoughts on reframing rejection into an invitation, and the small adjustments that can turn a failing idea into a successful one. [2:30:14]

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