In 2017, Lawrence Tosi, who had joined Airbnb as chief financial officer two years earlier from buyout firm Blackstone Group Inc BX.N, guided investors in a $1 billion fundraising round that a listing was likely in the next 12 months, according to people familiar with the discussions.

Investors were growing frustrated with the IPO's elusiveness. In the trunk of his car he would have his belongings,” Conway said. He would stay for a few nights in each one. “He now has a proper house, but for years he would go and try out a new Airbnb every night. He split his time between running the company, visiting properties and developing experiences for guests. As Airbnb raised more money from investors, Chesky resisted taking it public. “Chesky is one founder where it wasn’t his dream to go public but it’s part of the process of satisfying all your stakeholders and rewarding them,” said SV Angel founder Ron Conway, an early investor in Airbnb and a supporter of Chesky who liaises with him regularly.Īirbnb declined to comment, while Chesky declined to comment through a spokesman.Īirbnb officially reached technology unicorn status in 2011, when it crossed the $1 billion valuation threshold. Airbnb is poised to seek a valuation of around $30 billion, less than the $50 billion that investment bankers told Chesky the company could have been valued in a listing two years ago. It took years of pressure from investors and employees, as well as a deterioration in Airbnb’s finances during the pandemic, for Chesky to give up on his expansion plans and commit to a listing.

By increasing spending on these ventures, he sacrificed Airbnb’s profitability, the IPO prospectus shows. Reuters interviews with more than a dozen Airbnb executives, advisers, investors and employees show that Chesky put IPO plans on the backburner as he sought to turn the company into a full-fledged travel agency, adding “experiences” so guests could participate in vacation activities such as book-guided tours of local attractions. The long road to the IPO frustrated many investors and employees waiting for an opportunity to sell their Airbnb shares in the stock market. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings/File PhotoĪirbnb aims to complete its initial public offering (IPO) on Nasdaq next month, 12 years after Chesky founded the company with former roommates Joseph Gebbia and Nathan Blecharczyk. FILE PHOTO: Co-founder and CEO of Airbnb Brian Chesky speaks during an interview in Langa township, Cape Town, South Africa March 17, 2017.

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