How a Cereal Box Helped Launch a Billion-Dollar Company | by Derick David | Utopian | Medium
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How a Cereal Box Helped Launch a Billion-Dollar Company
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Nov 17, 2023
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Obama Os and Cap’N McCain’s
In 2008, the founders of Airbnb were so broke, they sold custom cereal boxes to make money. Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia, and Nathan Blecharczyk were just three guys trying keep their young startup, Airbnb, afloat. They were running out of money and facing eviction from their apartment.
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Airbnb founders early days
Out of desperation, they came up with a crazy idea: they would create custom cereal boxes featuring presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain.
They called them “Obama O’s” and “Cap’n McCains.”
The timing was perfect. They managed to sell 1,000 boxes for $40 each, making $30,000. The money was enough to keep Airbnb afloat for a few more months. The cereal box stunt was a success, not just because it raised money, but also because it got people talking about Airbnb.
The company received a lot of free publicity.
Airbnb’s first major investor, Paul Graham of Y Combinator, said that he invested in Airbnb not because of the business idea itself but because of the stunt they pulled with the cereal boxes. He added that if they can do it with cereal boxes, they can do it with Airbnb.
Today, Airbnb is one of the most successful companies in the world. It’s valued at over $80 billion and has over 7 million listings in over 100,000 cities.
The Airbnb story of cereal boxes is a reminder that even in the darkest of times, there is always hope. With a little creativity and determination, anything is possible.