Airbnb started as a simple solution to a personal problem. During a large conference in San Francisco, its founders couldn’t afford their rent, so they rented out air mattresses in their apartment to visiting attendees. It was not meant to be a business, just a way to cover expenses.

The idea worked because it solved a real problem. Hotels were fully booked, and travelers needed affordable places to stay. What began as an improvised solution revealed a much larger opportunity.

Instead of dismissing it as a one time fix, the founders expanded the concept. They built a platform that allowed ordinary people to rent out spare rooms or entire homes. Trust systems, reviews, and payments were added, turning a casual idea into a scalable service.

Over time, Airbnb grew into a global hospitality company operating in hundreds of countries. What started with air mattresses on a living room floor became a platform worth tens of billions of dollars, proving that some of the biggest ideas are discovered, not planned.

“How many billion dollar ideas begin as temporary solutions to small problems?”