What was similar about Uber and Airbnb in their infancy? Originally, Quora – appeared on the place where to acquire and share knowledge, giving people the means to learn from others and to better understand the world. .
Reply from Brad Stone, editor-in-chief of Bloomberg and author of The Upstarts on Quora:
Although they are in very different companies, I will point out some similarities. First and foremost, many seasoned investors have rejected both of these ideas and their founders. About 150 of the 165 people who have received an email from AngelList about Uber have not even responded. The famous Ron Conway, who invests in everything, has conveyed Uber saying it would be a fight in every city. (He was right!) The first challenges of Airbnb investors are legendary. An investor (I'm still curious to know who it is) stepped on Brian Chesky mid-field in a coffee shop in Palo Alto. Investors worry about what could go wrong in an Airbnb and how the company might get out of it. Andreessen Horowitz has actually spent the start before investing in the next round.
Another major similarity is that both business groups have been facing regulatory and policy hurdles long before any other technology startups have ever done so. Uber ceased and desisted in his hometown about six months after its launch. Airbnb was illegal in New York from the beginning (thanks to an anti-illegal law on hotels adopted in 2010). Both start-ups had to hire lobbyists and political advisers early. It probably took a decade before Google or Amazon did it.
Final similarity: Both companies made technological advances and would not have been possible if they had been launched five years ago. For Uber, it was the iPhone, GPS and wireless connectivity enhancement (remember the first year of horrible AT & T coverage on iPhone)? Airbnb has grown largely because Facebook has established the identity of people online. Internet.
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