What actually happened
Paul Graham describes Airbnb's founders visiting New York, recruiting hosts door to door and helping existing hosts improve their listings.
Source: Paul Graham — Do Things That Don't Scale ↗What you can learn
A marketplace needs useful supply before visitors have a reason to stay. Early founders can learn more from personally helping a few hosts than from running a broad campaign.
Try it this week
- Choose a small group of potential suppliers you can contact directly.
- Ask how they currently find customers and what makes listing difficult.
- Help one person complete the process and record each obstacle.
Check your understanding
What should a new marketplace automate first?
Our exercises and interpretations are editorial guidance, not YC's own application answers.