Lukezic hit it big time! Airbnb worth $1.3 billion!

jjjjjjjjj wrote:

I'm betting that there was a substantial equity position adequate to entice him away from a professional running career, and only now is the value of that position evident to him.

"A company that defines itself as inventive is looking for candidates who stand out — people who actually embody the word “inventive,” not just use it.

Case in point, Christopher Lukezic, Airbnb’s director of marketing, commanded everyone’s attention — Gebbia and Chesky especially — when he applied with a comic book in lieu of a resume in the summer of 2009.

At the time, Airbnb was getting hundreds of resumes (now it’s seeing thousands), all of which looked the same. “Christopher had illustrated a two-page comic book about why he wanted to work at Airbnb and who he was,” Gebbia recalls.

Lukezic was hired in days."

they never give big shares to non-engineers in the early rounds. in fact the the vcs will likely put in their own stanford mba before the next round is approved. that's how it is always done.

I always find it fall-on-the-floor, fist-pounding hilarious when I see comments like those written in their website about potential employees: Must Haves: Passion, Design Sensibility & Raw Intelligence.

It's a freakin' travel site, for god sakes. They are selling places to sleep to people on the internet.

Try applying those high-level thinking skills to something like the biomedical engineering fields of organ regeneration or tissue scaffolding.

Raw intelligence? Come on man, get real. I found 3 hots and a cot in Belize. Am I brillant too?

AirWhat? wrote:

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/57986920-b4d1-11e0-a21d-00144feabdc0.html?ftcamp=rss#axzz1TGZatOPu

Looks like Lukezic made the best decision of his life to retire from running after all! His company is now worth $1.3 billion.

It really depends on how you define happiness. I always liked Chris and I hope he does end up being rich as hell particularly since for me it would take a ton of money to give up on an Olympic dream particularly if I ran 3:33 as a 22-year old.

As the Director of Marketing, he probably will end up being rich as hell assuming the company doesn't tank.

He always struck me as a creative type (and that comic book story proves is) so it's possible that business, not running, is his true passion. If that's the case, then he didn't give up too much.

But 3:33 at age 22 is damn good.

But here's my dream scenario.Once his 4-20 drug ban ends in January of 2012, he starts a comeback. I guess making the team in 2012 is probably unrealistic. So maybe keep working for a year or two until he can cash out for 10+ million. Start a comeback and I'll coach him to the 2016 Games. He may have only quite because he was deproving at age 23-24.

Or hell he can just start his own pro team. He can personally finance "Team LetsRun powered by Airbnb (or Chris Lukezic)". We'll have all of the latest technology and put the Nike boys to shame.

If he wants to have the name, we can call it "Team Lukezic coached by Rojo or LRC". He'll call the shots obviously much like a rich horse race owner.

As a country the USA is at Wallmart [big ass crack showing]and your credit card is being rejected cause it's way maxed out.

so talk about IPO's and money is less then impressive

Gentlemen, obviously not many here work in the real world. A Director position at a company valued over $1B earns well over $100K+, especially in Marketing.

rojo wrote:

I'll coach him to the 2016 Games.

Try coaching a team beyond NCAA xc regionals, first.

This is a portrait of someone who is overly infatuated with money and thinks he's more important than he is.

Typically only the technical guys have stocks.

I doubt he has any equity in the company. Maybe a little, but nothing sizeable. That would be very odd. Why give away equity to an employee?

That said, I am sure he will be very successful in life. He is a winner.

At the company’s Initial Public Offering (IPO) on December 12, 1980, Apple shares were offered to the general public at a price of $14 each. At the opening bell, the stock was priced $22 and sold all 4.6 million shares within minutes. Apple’s stock offering had generated more capital than Ford Motor’s had in 1956 and instantly created about 300 millionaires – more than any company in history up to that point. Of Apple’s 1,000 employees then, more than 40 became millionaires because of their stock options.

Licker in the Front wrote:

I doubt he has any equity in the company. Maybe a little, but nothing sizeable. That would be very odd. Why give away equity to an employee?

That said, I am sure he will be very successful in life. He is a winner.

Apple is a little different than Airbnb. First of all, Apple had to attract a specific type of employee, especially at that time.

They needed to pull people away from established players like IBM, Lotus, etc.

3 guys starting a travel start-up with relatively small capital costs aren't going to give away large %s of equity to marketing directors. I wouldn't say that he has none, but I doubt he is a millionaire based off of equity.

I like Lukezic ran well and also worked in a pre IPO startup after my career. I was the 10 person hired in an internet startup during Silicon Valleys heyday as head of Biz Dev. We got bought out and I did okay financially. Probably less than he stands to, but well.

What bugs me about this article is he says it is better than making an Olympic team or, dare he say better than a gold medal...

I made an Olympic Team in the 1500. ( no gold medal, that is for sure) and I would disagree with his statement.

How would he know?

He never made an Olympic Team.

Justification for him not making the team in his own mind?

I for one would not trade my Olympic Participation for 10x the money I got from my startup, and I performed rather poorly at the big show.

There is one "trophy" I display in my house. It is my framed Olympic number. Most people don't know what it is, they think it is some number from a marathon or something...

But for those who know....

Did a little research on the company he works for, and while I still disagree with his comparison, since he never made the team, I do think he will do quite well with this up coming company. Top notch VC investors.

I presume this is MS since you are probbaly the only former 1500 Olympian who is doing cool work in Silicone valley.

I don't think you need to defend your opinion. Most would agree with you. If there is one thing that we can agree on that is better than money, it would be making an Olympic Team. What you have done is more impressive than gathering any sum of money, no matter how large.

You are also different from a lot of runners. You are a much more lucid person. I've actually hung out with you before - prior to you making the team - and I remember thinking that you were a pretty good guy.

Anyway, Lukezic will do just fine for himself. He didn't want to make the Team and that is fine. Sometimes words are taken out of context, and I wouldn't be surprised if this was one of those time.

Olympian 1500 wrote:

http://blog.airbnb.com/airbnb-is-better-than-the-olympics

What bugs me about this article is he says it is better than making an Olympic team or, dare he say better than a gold medal...

He's writing to get people interested in working for Airbnb. He might be using a little hyperbole.

he's not even technical. why listen to him. why would anyone take a job at another fly-by-night startup that will be snuffed out by the end of the year.

asdgfh wrote:

He's writing to get people interested in working for Airbnb. He might be using a little hyperbole.

Yeah, I don't think that he would say something like this to runners.

If he came on this board and posted something of this nature, I could see how it would piss you off, but this is another platform entirely.

Let him tout his company on the blog. Fair is fair.

has anyone used Airbnb?