Citation
The Airbnb Story: How Three Ordinary Guys Disrupted an Industry, Made Billions... and Created Plenty of Controversy
TL;DR
Airbnb had $5,000 remaining when founders decided to bet on photography
Gallagher's book provides the detailed narrative of Airbnb's early survival decisions, including the pivotal $5,000 photography bet. This primary source documents how the founders faced a classic risk-sensitive foraging dilemma: safe strategy (extend runway) guaranteed slow death, while risky strategy (spend everything on photos) offered survival probability.
The account demonstrates that risk-sensitive foraging principles emerge naturally in entrepreneurial decision-making, even without explicit biological frameworks.
Key Findings from Gallagher (2017)
- Airbnb had $5,000 remaining when founders decided to bet on photography
- The decision directly contradicted conventional cash-preservation wisdom
- Bookings doubled within two weeks of professional photos launching
- The bet enabled the seed round that saved the company