This post was originally published on this site
When the founders of Airbnb first pitched their idea to investors, the responses ranged from incredulous to dismissive. It’s one thing for people to buy and sell with strangers on eBay, prospective backers would say, but to invite people you meet online to stay in your home? How long before a host ended up dissolved in acid and washed down the kitchen sink?
It turned out that millions of people were willing to give the concept a go, provided they could trust that they wouldn’t be exploited. “We bet our whole company,” Joe…