The Airbnb Origin Story: Hustle, Cereal Boxes & Y Combinator

Join us for the gritty, scrappy, behind-the-scenes story of Airbnb—before the billions, before the brand, when Joe, Brian, and Nathan were broke, barely affording rent, and selling cereal just to survive.

Discover how three scrappy founders turned air mattresses on a living room floor into a global travel empire, despite repeated rejections and near-total failure.
This case study dives into their challenges, the make-or-break moments at Y Combinator, and the bold decisions that helped them build trust in a completely new kind of marketplace.