Joe Gebbia Quotes

Airbnb was born out of necessarity. Our rent went up. It was born out of a problem.

This is kind of a uniquely New York experience, but when you can't afford an apartment nicer than the place you're renting, there's something so inherently depressing about it.

The Web 2.0 world is defined by new ways of understanding ourselves, of creating value in our culture, of running companies, and of working together.

When we started Airbnb, I had no idea about the people we would meet or the friendships I would make.

I deal with creativity all the time. What I have fun with is trying to transform creativity into business reality all over the world. To do this, you have to be connected to innovators and designers but also make their ideas livable and concrete.

I came up with the Enveloper when I was 20 and it took my dad and me several months to develop the initial concept into a working model.

By helping New Yorkers turn their greatest expense - their home - into an asset, Airbnb is a vehicle that artists, entrepreneurs, and innovators can use to earn extra money to pursue their passion.

We believe that the best solutions come from solving your own problem. If you have a real problem, there's likely someone else who can relate. That's how Airbnb was born.

Airbnb has proven that hospitality, generosity, and the simple act of trust between strangers can go a long way.

We built a basic website, and Air Bed and Breakfast was born. Three lucky guests got to stay on a $20 airbed on the hardwood floor. But they loved it. And so did we. We took them on adventures around the city.

I didn't have that when I invented MyPillow. I didn't have a safety net.

When you're designing and inventing the way I did, every minute of your life is put - every neuron in your brain into trying to think about the little code and how you can maybe have one less line of code and a little bit more straightforward from the beginning to the answer. And you don't have time to think about companies and products and how would I build this. So Steve Jobs and I were a very necessary pair.

It is difficult to begin without borrowing, but perhaps it is the most generous course thus to permit your fellowmen to have an interest in your enterprise.

Of course there is a lot of fluidity now between art, architecture and fashion - a lot more cross-pollination in the disciplines, but this isn't about competition, it's about collaboration and what these practices and processes can contribute to one another.

Small teams driven by their passion with a clear focus can do extraordinary things. Things that only large corporations and governments could do in the past.

All the most successful people nowadays who are truly successful and innovative in their field are not people motivated by money.

I actually think we need to put our energies, as entrepreneurs, as technology inventors, as government, to being much more inclusive. I think the key thing is actually working together.

Competition is. In every business, no matter how small or how large, someone is just around the corner forever trying to steal your ideas and build his success out of your imagination, struggling after that which you have toiled endless years to secure, striving to outdo you in each and every way. If such a competitor would work as hard to originate as he does to copy, he would much more quickly gain success.

I started passing out the schematics and the code listings for the computer, telling everyone here it is. It's small, it's simple, it's inexpensive: Build your own. No idea to start a company. Steve Jobs came by later and say, you know, people are interested. Why don't we start a company?

Owning pipelines, people, products, or even intellectual property is no longer the key to success. Openness is.

Huh," Leo said. "Well, if you ever get off this island and want a job, let me know. You're not a total klutz." She smirked. "A job, eh?" Making things in your forge?" "Nah, we could start our own shop," Leo said, surprising himself. Starting a machine shop had always been one of his dreams, but he'd never told anyone about it. "Leo and Calypso's Garage: Auto Repair and Mechanical Monsters.

We've got unmatched talent, innovation, entrepreneurial spirit, so when we work together, we can all benefit.

When you go and create something, you want to believe in it. If they don't, we're barking up the wrong tree. But when you believe in something and you see other people believing in it too, it just feels like you're doing something right in the world, and that feels good.

I think the whole thing that Jamie [Hyneman] and I have in working together is that we are constantly simplifying each other's designs, and we both appreciate that the quickest and the dirtiest solution is usually the most elegant, the least expensive, and the fastest.

Creativity is the most practical thing a businessman can employ.