Latest news with #BrianChesky
San Francisco Chronicle
2 days ago
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
How will Trump's ban on Chinese students work out? Just look at Airbnb for the answer
As a former global chief marketing officer, I spent much of my life and career working across borders. Now, I teach at the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business and use my real-world experience to help my students understand how global companies succeed — or fail — abroad. Many have rightly called out the short-sighted, damaging and, frankly, un-American nature of the recent decision by the Trump administration to revoke Chinese student visas. Less understood is the damage this move will do not just to students, but to American competitiveness. In my classes, I discuss how Airbnb worked hard to enter the market, how founder Brian Chesky himself spearheaded its foray with strategic investors and took a Chinese name. But it wasn't enough. The cultural obstacles — questions about payment, privacy and trust — ran deeper than expected. Despite persevering through the COVID-19 pandemic, Airbnb pulled out of China in 2022. My students know Airbnb. Many hope to work there. So, the lessons of this failure matter. To learn from Airbnb's experience in China, I have my students analyze the case and share their insights with classmates. Sometimes they visit with industry leaders as part of this assignment. One of my students from China took it a step further. He reached out to hospitality executives back home, gathering firsthand accounts of what Airbnb missed. His presentation included real-world context, cultural insights and compelling quotes that had the entire room — including our guest, Hyatt's former head of Asia operations — leaning in. Afterward, she turned to the student and said, 'You should send this to Airbnb. You might just get hired.' This is what education is supposed to do. Create a space where smart, driven students from around the world learn from each other — and make each other better. When we deny some of those students, we don't just punish them. We rob our own students of learning, our businesses of future talent, and our country of its global edge. It's not just about full tuition (though many Chinese students pay it). It's about full participation. These students help U.S. companies understand how to enter markets, understand cultures, adapt products and services, and avoid billion-dollar missteps. They go on to join U.S. firms, shape global strategy, and drive innovation. And yet, this presidential administration would rather play politics with student visas than recognize what's at stake. The loss is ours. It hits American universities and businesses where it hurts. Our ideas won't be challenged — and improved — by global conversations. Our companies will be outpaced in Asia and beyond. We can't afford to lose the next generation of global thinkers, collaborators and leaders. We need them in our classrooms, on our teams and in our companies. In sending Chinese students home, we're not protecting America — we're isolating it. Katherine Melchior Ray lectures at UC Berkeley Haas School of Business and is a former global marketing executive. She is the author of the forthcoming book 'Brand Global, Adapt Local: How to Build Brand Value Across Cultures.'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Brian Chesky reveals what he learned from a brutal early rejection email
Brian Chesky said a rejection email from 2008 taught him a key lesson about entrepreneurship. The Airbnb CEO said it was one of many rejections he got while building the multi-billion dollar company. Chesky's comments come as the job market, especially in the tech world, remains bleak. In 2008, Brian Chesky, co-founder and CEO of Airbnb, had an inbox full of rejections. At the time, he was trying to raise money for his fledgeling start-up, Chesky said in a recent interview on the "The Diary of a CEO" podcast. "We've had a chance to discuss internally, and unfortunately don't think that it's right for 'fill in the blank investment firm' from an investment perspective," Chesky read during the interview, noting that the email was from August 1, 2008. "The potential market opportunity did not seem large enough for a required model." Chesky was, to the best of his memory, trying to raise $150,000 at a $1.5 million post-money valuation. Now, nearly 17 years later, Airbnb has a market cap of nearly $80 billion. "That's a pretty large market," Chesky said. "And our business is pretty much the same idea as the idea that we proposed to that person who said our market opportunity wasn't large enough." Airbnb has recently implemented some changes, like launching a "services" option for booking things like private chefs and personal trainers, and a new "experiences" feature. Chesky said that there are many lessons to be found in this early rejection email. "It's a reminder that the world doesn't just change. Or at least it doesn't just transform towards our dreams, ideals, and ambitions," Chesky said. "That requires certain types of people — we might call them entrepreneurs, inventors, all sorts of people in different domains — that believe the world can be a little different than the one that they live in." Most people listening to the podcast, he said, have the skills to be an entrepreneur, at least on a small scale. Chesky said all this as the job market remains dire, including for young people in the tech sector. Read the original article on Business Insider Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Business Insider
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Brian Chesky reveals what he learned from a brutal early rejection email
In 2008, Brian Chesky, co-founder and CEO of Airbnb, had an inbox full of rejections. At the time, he was trying to raise money for his fledgeling start-up, Chesky said in a recent interview on the "The Diary of a CEO" podcast. "We've had a chance to discuss internally, and unfortunately don't think that it's right for 'fill in the blank investment firm' from an investment perspective," Chesky read during the interview, noting that the email was from August 1, 2008. "The potential market opportunity did not seem large enough for a required model." Chesky was, to the best of his memory, trying to raise $150,000 at a $1.5 million post-money valuation. Now, nearly 17 years later, Airbnb has a market cap of nearly $80 billion. "That's a pretty large market," Chesky said. "And our business is pretty much the same idea as the idea that we proposed to that person who said our market opportunity wasn't large enough." Airbnb has recently implemented some changes, like launching a " services" option for booking things like private chefs and personal trainers, and a new " experiences" feature. Chesky said that there are many lessons to be found in this early rejection email. "It's a reminder that the world doesn't just change. Or at least it doesn't just transform towards our dreams, ideals, and ambitions," Chesky said. "That requires certain types of people — we might call them entrepreneurs, inventors, all sorts of people in different domains — that believe the world can be a little different than the one that they live in." Most people listening to the podcast, he said, have the skills to be an entrepreneur, at least on a small scale. Chesky said all this as the job market remains dire, including for young people in the tech sector.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky lays out the 3 key differences between founders and managers
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky revealed three big differences between founders and managers. He compared founders to parents, saying they have unique knowledge of their business baby. Chesky also shared the two biggest risks for founders, drawing a lesson from Steve Jobs. Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky knows firsthand what founders alone bring to the table — and what they lack. In an interview on "The Diary of CEO" podcast, Chesky revealed the three crucial attributes he thinks founders have that managers don't. He says they have a unique love for the business as a company's "biological parent," they have "permission" to make big changes, and they know their metaphorical business baby better than anyone. "You can love something, but when you're the biological parent of something, it came from you, it is you," Chesky, who cofounded and built up Airbnb during the 2008 financial crisis, said. "There's a deep passion and love." Unlike managers, who often join a company once it's already built, founders have total control, or what Chesky calls "the permission." Building on the parental metaphor, he compared the concept to how parents can't tell other kids what to do, but can tell their own kids what to do. Whereas managers might not feel they have the latitude to rebrand a company, for example, founders likely do feel that authority, Chesky said. Lastly, Chesky said a founder knows the roots of their company — their baby, in this case — in a way a manager simply doesn't. "You built it, so you know how to rebuild it," he said. Founders know their company's foundational nuts and bolts from before it was even fully formed— he said they understand "the alloys, where they were sourced from." Yet Chesky also revealed two big problems for founders. Most, he said, can't scale up to run a huge company — and they bump up against the inevitable fact of their own mortality. "Great companies usually want to live longer than humans do, and so therefore you end up with the inevitable challenge that Disney and Steve Jobs had," he said. "Which is succession planning." Tech companies, including Microsoft and Amazon, have been shedding middle managers recently to cut out bureaucratic bloat, but experts previously told BI that the efforts could go too far. Entry-level job opportunities are also scant in the tech and finance worlds. Airbnb is making big changes, though not related to its management structure. The company is launching Airbnb Services, which offers include private chefs and personal trainers, in an attempt to claw back customers from hotels. Read the original article on Business Insider
Business Insider
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky lays out the three key differences between founders and managers
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky knows firsthand what founders alone bring to the table — and what they lack. In an interview on " The Diary of CEO" podcast, Chesky revealed the three crucial attributes he thinks founders have that managers don't. He says they have a unique love for the business as a company's "biological parent," they have "permission" to make big changes, and they know their metaphorical business baby better than anyone. "You can love something, but when you're the biological parent of something, it came from you, it is you," Chesky, who cofounded and built up Airbnb during the 2008 financial crisis, said. "There's a deep passion and love." Unlike managers, who often join a company once it's already built, founders have total control, or what Chesky calls "the permission." Building on the parental metaphor, he compared the concept to how parents can't tell other kids what to do, but can tell their own kids what to do. Whereas managers might not feel they have the latitude to rebrand a company, for example, founders likely do feel that authority, Chesky said. Lastly, Chesky said a founder knows the roots of their company — their baby, in this case — in a way a manager simply doesn't. "You built it, so you know how to rebuild it," he said. Founders know their company's foundational nuts and bolts from before it was even fully formed— he said they understand "the alloys, where they were sourced from." Yet Chesky also revealed two big problems for founders. Most, he said, can't scale up to run a huge company — and they bump up against the inevitable fact of their own mortality. "Great companies usually want to live longer than humans do, and so therefore you end up with the inevitable challenge that Disney and Steve Jobs had," he said. "Which is succession planning." Tech companies, including Microsoft and Amazon, have been shedding middle managers recently to cut out bureaucratic bloat, but experts previously told BI that the efforts could go too far. Entry-level job opportunities are also scant in the tech and finance worlds. Airbnb is making big changes, though not related to its management structure. The company is launching Airbnb Services, which offers include private chefs and personal trainers, in an attempt to claw back customers from hotels.
