San Francisco
Funding: Cereal sales; Y Combinator incubator
Amount
raised: $30,000 from cereal; $20,000 from Y Combinator
Launched:
August 2008
When AirBnB's founders first thought to build a Web site to help travelers to rent rooms in other people's homes, angel investors were intrigued but too wary to sink money into the fledging project, says CEO Brian Chesky.
So he and his cofounders lived off their savings and maxed out their credit cards until October 2008, when they realized that one of their ideas -- to create a fun breakfast cereal hosts could provide guests -- could be monetized in a big way. Taking advantage of the election year, they purchased huge quantities of bulk cereal, then pasted together cardboard boxes they'd paid an artist to brand as Obama O's and Cap'n McCain cereal. In two months, the entrepreneurs sold 800 boxes of cereal at $40 a pop, for a profit of more than $30,000.
To read the full, original article click on this link: Where to get startup cash now - AirBnB (1) - Small Business
Author: Tina Peng
