Joe Gebbia

In a lot of ways, the real learning at RISD happened after-hours when you're working side by side with your colleagues.

Dog-fooding is using your own products so that you understand from inside out what it is you're providing the customers. It's another way to gain insights and to gain intelligence. You use it yourself; you eat your own dog food. Every time we do that, we discover something that we can improve.

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.

Every apartment I've ever lived in has had a space to make, create, and get stuff done within eyesight of my bed.

What we're doing with Airbnb feels like the nexus of everything that is right. We're helping people be more resourceful with the space they already have, and we're connecting people around the world.

Ultimately, the power of the Airbnb platform is that it motivates guests to blend into communities, belong anywhere, and live like locals.

As our company has grown, how we configure and design our offices has been a crucial part of how we foster connection and collaboration throughout our teams.

As with any new and innovative industry, entrenched interests - particularly the hotel industry - have attempted to squash the home-sharing movement.

I feel triumphant when our moms can use Airbnb without their technically inclined kids.

Cities are a melting pot for different ideas, and diversity brings a high-energy rhythm that I don't think we'd know was gone until it was too late.

Digital communication is completely different from in-person, face-to-face conversations. One will give you surface insights, and the other really gives you depth.

In the post-war United States, you had this race to the suburbs. Cities shrank, the suburbs got bigger - and the notion of community changed drastically. You went from all being very close together to all being spaced apart and slightly suspicious of one another.