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st3jam's review against another edition
4.0
[a:Leigh Gallagher|3012680|Leigh Gallagher|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/f_50x66-6a03a5c12233c941481992b82eea8d23.png] in [b:The Airbnb Story: How Three Ordinary Guys Disrupted an Industry, Made Billions . . . and Created Plenty of Controversy|32198220|The Airbnb Story How Three Ordinary Guys Disrupted an Industry, Made Billions . . . and Created Plenty of Controversy|Leigh Gallagher|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1474820240s/32198220.jpg|52841427] takes you on a rollercoaster journey which is unconventional, funny and inspiring. My favourite aspect was that she doesn't paint it as a perfect fairytale. Instead, she goes the extra mile by fishing out details otherwise not known and expressing struggles that are either relatable or hard to fathom.
smack's review against another edition
3.0
I love reading books that are both interesting and give me some useful business knowhow.
Not being a user of Airbnb (yet) but familiar with its staggering growth, I wanted the chance to get the inside story, warts and all.
On the whole I really enjoyed this book. It was insightful and you get some really in-depth character profiles of the three founders. My favourite takeaway from the book is that the CEO, Brian Chesky, who had no previous business experience, learnt so quickly by absorbing as much information from experienced leaders as he could. He would be open about not knowing something, seek out people who have the skills he wants, and interrogate them to get the information he wants. As someone who often feels uneasy about admitting I don’t know something this was a fantastic eyeopener.
There are two reasons I didn’t rate this book higher:
1) It was very long-winded. The book felt it should have finished about 50 pages earlier but it just kept going. Towards the end it did feel like the author was just trying to meet a word count, making sentences and paragraphs a lot longer than they needed to be. The one thing that most often causes me to drop down ratings is when books drag on too much towards the end.
2) Most of the time it felt like one big advertisement for Airbnb. I understand that working closely with the founders you’d be fairly limited in what you can say if you want them to approve the book – but I did feel like I could have just been reading Airbnb’s website at times.
Overall this is is a short (around 250 pages), well-written insight into Airbnb’s story. If you’re interested in getting insights from successful businesses then I do recommend this – its positives outweigh its flaws.
Not being a user of Airbnb (yet) but familiar with its staggering growth, I wanted the chance to get the inside story, warts and all.
On the whole I really enjoyed this book. It was insightful and you get some really in-depth character profiles of the three founders. My favourite takeaway from the book is that the CEO, Brian Chesky, who had no previous business experience, learnt so quickly by absorbing as much information from experienced leaders as he could. He would be open about not knowing something, seek out people who have the skills he wants, and interrogate them to get the information he wants. As someone who often feels uneasy about admitting I don’t know something this was a fantastic eyeopener.
There are two reasons I didn’t rate this book higher:
1) It was very long-winded. The book felt it should have finished about 50 pages earlier but it just kept going. Towards the end it did feel like the author was just trying to meet a word count, making sentences and paragraphs a lot longer than they needed to be. The one thing that most often causes me to drop down ratings is when books drag on too much towards the end.
2) Most of the time it felt like one big advertisement for Airbnb. I understand that working closely with the founders you’d be fairly limited in what you can say if you want them to approve the book – but I did feel like I could have just been reading Airbnb’s website at times.
Overall this is is a short (around 250 pages), well-written insight into Airbnb’s story. If you’re interested in getting insights from successful businesses then I do recommend this – its positives outweigh its flaws.
teodonnell13's review against another edition
5.0
This was an excellent, fast-paced read. I picked this up because I was curious about the inner workings of Airbnb, and now I am absolutely hooked on its message and have so much respect for the founders. Gallagher weaves together the gritty origin story of the company with their incredible (not to mention rapid and ever-present) growth and social mission. If you have ever considered sharing your home with Airbnb, this is the book for you!
lulurags12's review against another edition
4.0
[a:Leigh Gallagher|3012680|Leigh Gallagher|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/f_50x66-6a03a5c12233c941481992b82eea8d23.png] in [b:The Airbnb Story: How Three Ordinary Guys Disrupted an Industry, Made Billions . . . and Created Plenty of Controversy|32198220|The Airbnb Story How Three Ordinary Guys Disrupted an Industry, Made Billions . . . and Created Plenty of Controversy|Leigh Gallagher|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1474820240s/32198220.jpg|52841427] takes you on a rollercoaster journey which is unconventional, funny and inspiring. My favourite aspect was that she doesn't paint it as a perfect fairytale. Instead, she goes the extra mile by fishing out details otherwise not known and expressing struggles that are either relatable or hard to fathom.
martastanley's review against another edition
4.0
(English version below)
"The Airbnb Story" pretende contar a fascinante história de como uma ideia simples se tornou num enorme fenómeno mundial. Toda a gente sabe o que é o Airbnb e toda a gente já teve alguma experiência, directa ou indirecta, com a plataforma. E foi por isso que decidi ler este livro e saber mais sobre o seu passado.
A jornalista Leigh Gallagher mostrou ser uma excelente narradora, tentando mostrar tanto as falhas como os sucessos da plataforma e dos seus fundadores. Para além disso, Gallagher explora o possível futuro da indústria de viagens, uma abordagem que enriquece bastante o livro.
Recomendo este livro quer para os que querem saber mais sobre a história do Airbnb como entrepreneurs e interessados em start-ups. "The Airbnb Story" serve como uma ferramenta interessante de motivação e informação!
"The Airbnb Story" aims to tell the fascinating story of how a simple idea became a massive global phenomenon. Nowadays, everyone knows what Airbnb is and everyone has had direct or indirect contact with it. And that is why I decided to read this book and get to know about its past.
Journalist Leigh Gallagher is an excellent narrator, trying to explore the failures and successes of the platform and its founders. Moreover, Gallagher explores the possible future of the travel industry, an approach that enriches the book.
I recommend this book to those who want to know more about the origins of Airbnb and entrepreneurs and start-up enthusiasts. "The Airbnb Story" is an interesting tool for motivation and information!
"The Airbnb Story" pretende contar a fascinante história de como uma ideia simples se tornou num enorme fenómeno mundial. Toda a gente sabe o que é o Airbnb e toda a gente já teve alguma experiência, directa ou indirecta, com a plataforma. E foi por isso que decidi ler este livro e saber mais sobre o seu passado.
A jornalista Leigh Gallagher mostrou ser uma excelente narradora, tentando mostrar tanto as falhas como os sucessos da plataforma e dos seus fundadores. Para além disso, Gallagher explora o possível futuro da indústria de viagens, uma abordagem que enriquece bastante o livro.
Recomendo este livro quer para os que querem saber mais sobre a história do Airbnb como entrepreneurs e interessados em start-ups. "The Airbnb Story" serve como uma ferramenta interessante de motivação e informação!
"The Airbnb Story" aims to tell the fascinating story of how a simple idea became a massive global phenomenon. Nowadays, everyone knows what Airbnb is and everyone has had direct or indirect contact with it. And that is why I decided to read this book and get to know about its past.
Journalist Leigh Gallagher is an excellent narrator, trying to explore the failures and successes of the platform and its founders. Moreover, Gallagher explores the possible future of the travel industry, an approach that enriches the book.
I recommend this book to those who want to know more about the origins of Airbnb and entrepreneurs and start-up enthusiasts. "The Airbnb Story" is an interesting tool for motivation and information!
adityahadi's review against another edition
5.0
PERFECT TRIANGLE AND CEREAL BOXES -- STORIES BEHIND THAT BEAUTIFUL BELO
The story started from a room where two design school graduates, Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia, lived. They pursue an idea to connect room and house owners to random travelers or ordinary people. The idea sounds weird and crazy, but nowadays the startup has a US$31 billion valuation.
However, it's not an easy way to crossed for Airbnb's founders. They have to asked their mate Nathan Blecharczyk to leave his fiancee and join them through Y Combinator, they had to sell a gigantic amount of cereal to stay alive, and they also had to face a big wall of regulation that was created by government.
Airbnb's key of success is laid inside their founders' mind. Chesky is a natural leader and learning enthusiast, while Gebbia is a perfectionist that can handle the company's operation and new innovations really well. Blecharczyk, is not only an ordinary CTO. He has a great business mind that inspired him to create growth hacking tools, such as integration to Craiglist and legendary payment system.
And now, Airbnb had evolved and become a community. However, there are still lot of hurdles that wait for them in the future, while they also have plan for IPO next year. If you want to learn practical ways to follow Airbnb's success, this book is a perfect thing to read.
The story started from a room where two design school graduates, Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia, lived. They pursue an idea to connect room and house owners to random travelers or ordinary people. The idea sounds weird and crazy, but nowadays the startup has a US$31 billion valuation.
However, it's not an easy way to crossed for Airbnb's founders. They have to asked their mate Nathan Blecharczyk to leave his fiancee and join them through Y Combinator, they had to sell a gigantic amount of cereal to stay alive, and they also had to face a big wall of regulation that was created by government.
Airbnb's key of success is laid inside their founders' mind. Chesky is a natural leader and learning enthusiast, while Gebbia is a perfectionist that can handle the company's operation and new innovations really well. Blecharczyk, is not only an ordinary CTO. He has a great business mind that inspired him to create growth hacking tools, such as integration to Craiglist and legendary payment system.
And now, Airbnb had evolved and become a community. However, there are still lot of hurdles that wait for them in the future, while they also have plan for IPO next year. If you want to learn practical ways to follow Airbnb's success, this book is a perfect thing to read.
vinayakmalik's review against another edition
4.0
So this is a thing. I still dont have too much faith in the way this model operates but this book definitely cleared up some stuff
rachm77's review against another edition
3.0
The AirBnB story was an interesting read, but I found the focus on business practices less interesting than the human stories, so found I was losing interest towards the end. The author clearly had access to many, if not all of the key people involved, and I found the background to the founding of AirBnB, as well as the overview of their early years engaging. I think this would be a great read for anyone interested in business, but the business details made it a bit too dry for me to re-read.
I received a free digital ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received a free digital ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
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