The Tim Ferriss Show #301: Joe Gebbia – Co-Founder of Airbnb
Turning A Chess Project Into Full Size Chairs
- At RISD Joe refused to make 12-inch chess pawns and instead built 16 full-size functional chairs based on Gerrit Rietveld.
- He learned woodworking by recruiting shop help, working nights, and surprising his professor at critique with finished chairs.
How Crit Buns Went From Sketch To 600 Units In Weeks
- Joe invented Crit Buns at RISD after seeing charcoal butt prints from long critiques and prototyped cushions from molded foam.
- He won a graduation competition, rushed manufacturing in weeks, and delivered 600 cushions for commencement.
Selling Crit Buns Taught Product Launch Basics
- Joe used Crit Buns as a hands-on product school: he cold-called stores, endured rejection, and kept iterating until a small Boston boutique and later MoMA stocked the cushion.
- He learned sales by carrying samples everywhere, refining his pitch, and closing his first orders in person.
Joe Gebbia (@jgebbia) is a designer, entrepreneur, and global explorer. He is the co-founder and CPO of Airbnb, which has changed the way the world travels and how people connect in more than 190 countries.
In this wide-ranging and hilarious interview, Joe delivers the details on his path to Airbnb, and he shares the decisions, hardship, failures, and successes that prepared him for Airbnb.
Enjoy!
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